Life's Regrets
by Jagfan 724
Summary: [Complete] Follows after last season: It's Mac's last option to keep her alive, will she make it through this surgery? Will Harm be able to last through it all emotionally? Or will their worlds come crashing down on them?
1. Chapter 1: Goodbye

"Do you ever wish things had turned out differently?" Mac whispered, turning to look at the man sitting in the chair beside her.

Harm refused to let the tears fall. "Yes," he answered, holding her hand tightly.

She was lying back on the hospital bed, her face thin and pale. Her hair was spread out across the pillow, framing her still beautiful face. She was going in for another surgery, one that she might not make it through. No other treatments had worked so far, this surgery was the last option she had.

He had been there through it all with her; the times when she had hardly been able to get out of bed because it hurt so badly, the times when she had spent hours in the bathroom, unable to keep anything in her stomach. There had been good times too; times they had spent on the couch watching movies together. Harm had spent the last few weeks trying to make up for everything he had done, or hadn't done, over the years. He had been sweet, loving, and kind to her in ways she could never have imagined. He had always been with her, by her side, helping her when she asked and more importantly, even when she didn't.

"Thank you for being here," she continued her voice weak and soft.

"I will always be there for you," promised Harm.

"Are you going to go home when they put me under?"

"No," he assured her. "I'll be here waiting when you come out."

"If I come out," she corrected.

"Sarah, don't."

"Harm, you know I might not make it through this. I need you to accept that. I can't handle it...if...," she trailed off, her own tears threatening to spill over.

He broke down, burying his face in his hands. "I don't want to lose you, Sarah." The pain in his heart and in his soul was unbearable. He hated the feeling of not having control over the situation, of at least knowing that everything would turn out all right. He hated the unknown.

Mac smiled faintly and reached out to touch his head gently. She slowly ran her fingers through his short dark hair, caressing it. "You won't lose me, I'll always be with you," she softly told him.

"I love you," he told her, lifting his head up to look at her. The tender look in his eyes only confirmed his words.

She only smiled at him, unable to say the words he so desperately wanted to hear. She didn't know why she couldn't say them to him at that moment, she did love him. She had loved him since their first meeting in the Rose Garden and ever since. Even when he had rejected her in Australia, even when he left her and JAG to return to flying, she had loved him still.

"Come here," she invited hoarsely.

Harm gently gathered her up in his arms and hugged her tightly. They both gave in to their tears and cried; crying for lost chances, missed opportunities, and with the knowledge that this might be the last time they would be with each other.

The nurse stood in the doorway, watching the scene unfold before her. The doctor had sent her to prepare the Colonel for surgery but she decided that it could wait a few more minutes. Finally, she could wait no longer.

The light knock at the door startled the couple and Harm laid her back gently on the bed.

"Colonel Mackenzie? We're ready now," the nurse informed her.

Mac looked at Harm for comfort before nodding to the nurse. "Okay," she slowly answered.

"I'll be here waiting when you get out," he promised again, giving her hand a gentle squeeze and giving special emphasis to the word "when".

She gave him a sweet smile as the two orderlies and the nurse moved her onto the gurney and wheeled her out of the room. Harm followed by her side as she was wheeled down the hallways toward the surgery room.

"Sir, we'll have to ask you to stay here," the nurse firmly told him.

"I know," he responded, his eyes focused on Mac. He reluctantly released her small hand from his grasp and it fell back limply on the bed.

He watched as they began to move her inside the doors and then as she whispered for them to stop. She motioned for him to come forward and he hurried to her side.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I love you too, Harm," she told him, the words faint but her voice still held that quiet strength she had possessed for so many years.

He bent over her and leaned down, brushing his lips across hers in a sweet kiss. Before he pulled back, he whispered, "I love you, Sarah, and I'll be waiting." He flashed her a flyboy grin, the one meant only for her; trying to reassure her that everything would be okay.

She gave him one last smile and watched as he faded from her view, the large doors closing as she was wheeled away from him.

* * *

AN: I was only going to post just this chapter, but because of the many, wonderful reviews, I've decided to continue it. Hopefully you'll enjoy what is to come as much as you've all loved this!


	2. Chapter 2: Waiting

CHAPTER 2

Harm had never been very good at waiting in situations like this. He couldn't have ever imagined what Mac had gone through when he had crashed into the ocean the night before her wedding. For the past hour, he had been pacing the halls of the hospital. Not only were the soles of his shoes worn down and his feet tired, but many of the nurses were getting annoyed with him as well. His frenzied movements had finally forced them to order him to sit down or to go outside.

On the way out, he passed by the hallway heading to the maternity ward. He hesitated only briefly before heading down to look at the babies. Harm stood in front of the large window, gazing down at the couple rows of young babies, thinking back on a conversation had five years ago.

"_You and me? Go halves on a kid?"_

"_Yeah, with your looks and my brains, he'll be perfect."_

"_What if she has your looks and my brains?"_

Their baby deal. It had almost become null and void until they had learned that Webb had died. Harm hated the man but he hated to admit that Webb had helped him a few times when he needed it over the years. Nevertheless, he had put Sarah in danger while in Paraguay and that action alone was unforgivable in Harm's mind. Yes, she was a Marine and could take care of herself but she was also a woman with very human feelings, one who did not need her safety and welfare jeopardized.

He shook himself out of his reverie and headed back to the ER waiting room, feeling much calmer. The nurse at the desk eyed him suspiciously but Harm just headed to one of the empty couches to sit down. Minutes later, he was fast asleep, the worry and stress having made him completely exhausted.

------

_Harm woke up with a start. Something was wrong, things just didn't feel right. He gently rubbed his eyes in an attempt to wake up and looked around. There was a nurse approaching him. "Commander, the doctor would like to speak with you," the nurse told him, smiling kindly. Her smile did nothing to dispel the uneasy feeling he had._

_Wondering what was wrong, Harm followed the nurse down the hall to another small waiting room. The room was empty and had just a few chairs placed in a semi-circle in the middle. _

"_He'll be here in just a minute." The nurse left and just a few seconds later, a very tired doctor entered the room._

"_Commander Rabb?"_

"_Yes?" Harm started to rise to his feet but the doctor motioned for him to stay seated. "How's Sarah? Is everything okay?"_

_Dr. Rollins paused, sighing. "Commander...I'm sorry...she didn't make it. It was worse than we had thought; there was nothing we could have done to save her. She died just a few minutes ago."_

_Harm's face paled as he blankly stared at the doctor._

"_She's...gone...?"_

_The doctor just nodded._

_Harm felt himself gasping for breath as he rose to his feet, blindly heading out. He needed to get out of there. He needed to get away. Dr. Rollins called after him but he could hardly hear his name being called. Once outside, he collapsed near a cold cement bench. The pain in his heart was like nothing he'd ever experienced before but the pain and feeling of loss in his soul was unbearable._

"_NO!" he cried out, pounding his fists against the ground in frustration. People gazed at him strangely as they passed by, wondering what could have possibly happened to make the man cry. If only they knew. _

_Sarah was gone. His partner, his best friend, his soul mate, was gone. Never to return. She was dead. A sudden feeling of guilt struck Harm. Why had he held his feelings for her back for so long? Why hadn't he just admitted that he loved her years ago? Instead, he had let everything come between them and now the woman he had spent his days with, the woman his dreams had been filled with, was gone._

_He was all alone. His inability to admit his personal feelings had left him with no one to turn to. His body was wracked with sobs as he cried for the loss of a best friend, an exceptional lawyer, strong Marine, and the one woman who made it worth getting up each morning._

"_Sarah...Sarah...," he murmured, letting the tears freely flow._

----

Nurse Lindsey Bell watched the man toss and turn on the couch, listening as he cried out then as he was mumbling something. Getting up from her desk to see if he was okay, she heard him crying out the name 'Sarah'.

She reached out and placed her hand on his broad shoulder, shaking it gently.

"Commander? Commander?"

Harm woke with a start, sitting up and looking around wide-eyed as he tried to get a hold of his surroundings. It was just a dream. The whole thing was just a dream.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, I must have dozed off," he apologized to the nurse.

"That's all right, sir, I just wanted to make sure that you were doing all right," she said, obviously concerned.

"I'll be fine. Any word yet on Colonel Mackenzie?" he asked hopefully.

She shook her head. "Not yet. I'll let you know when I find out something."

"Thank you." Harm rubbed the sleep from his eyes, trying to wake up.

"Sir?"

"Yes?" He looked up to meet her worried gaze.

"Are you okay?"

He smiled a little. This woman seemed a lot like Harriet. "I'll be fine; I'm just tired and worried. It's been a long month."

"How do you two know each other, if you don't mind me asking?" Nurse Bell was keenly interested. She had been working at Bethesda Medical for several years now and had rarely seen a couple with such love and devotion to each other. The Commander had been there with the Colonel at every appointment, every treatment, and every surgery. Bell hadn't had the opportunity to look at the Colonel's medical file to see why she was in so often but looking at the weary look on this man's face only told her that the situation didn't have much hope.

"We work together, or at least we did. We're lawyers at JAG HQ," explained Harm. Sarah hadn't been to work for nearly three weeks. The admiral had yet to be replaced and Turner was acting as temporary JAG until someone was found. Mac had taken medical leave until further notice and was refusing to tell people just how sick she really was. Harriet and others had badgered Harm with questions but he had promised Mac that he would keep silent. She didn't want their pity, she told him.

"Lawyers? But I've seen you with the gold wings on your uniform," Bell objected.

"Yeah, for the first part of my military career I was a fighter pilot. Things changed and now I'm a lawyer. Sarah's always been a lawyer. And a damn good one at that," Harm said proudly, his voice tinged with a bit of sadness.

"You're her coworker and you're doing all this for her?" Nurse Bell had seen a lot more than she let on to seeing. The handholding, the hugging, the gentle kisses exchanged between the two, the warm and loving looks passed. Wasn't fraternization still frowned upon?

"I'm her partner; we've been together eight years. And...I'm in love with her," he admitted.

"And she with you," she responded.

Harm smiled faintly but didn't say anything. At that moment, the phone at the front desk rang.

"Excuse me, Commander," Nurse Bell said, leaving him alone with his thoughts so she could answer the phone.

Harm sat back in the stiff couch, glancing down at his watch. She had only been in there for barely two hours. The surgery was supposed to take at least six, if not more, depending on how extensive the damage was.

"Commander Rabb?" A male voice interrupted his thoughts and Harm looked up to find Reverend Turner standing before him.

"Reverend Turner, it's good to see you," Harm greeted, standing up to shake the man's hand.

"I wish I could say the same. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Waiting for someone," he answered.

"Odd place to be waiting for someone."

Harm needed someone to talk to and it looked like that someone would be one of his old best friend's father.

"Sarah's in surgery right now."

"Is she going to be okay? What happened?"

"I don't know...it's going to be a while, according to the doctors. I...I just don't know," Harm said helplessly.

For the next half hour, the two continued to talk. Well, Harm talked and Reverend Turner just listened. For the first time in his life, Harmon Rabb Jr. was truly scared. He could do nothing but wait for the doctors to be finished and he hated that feeling of not being able to help. He told the Reverend that they were just finally beginning to get their friendship back on track and that he didn't think he could bear to lose her now.

Reverend Turner listened patiently to the man's uncertainties and qualms until Harm could talk no more. That dream he had had was still pressed vividly in his mind, constantly reminding him that he might lose the one and only thing that truly mattered in his life.

"Sometimes there are things in life that are meant to be, Commander. And we may not like the way things turn out, but that's only because there's a greater purpose to be had. We can't control everything that happens to us, we can only control how we react to it," Reverend Turner advised.

"Thank you, sir. Thanks for listening." Harm could barely focus on the words coming from the wise man in front of him and Reverend Turner knew that.

"I've got to be going now. Good luck, Commander."


	3. Chapter 3: No Chance

AN: Sorry this is so slow but I'm kind of on vacation and it's hard to get an internet hookup. I'll be faster next week, when I get back home.  
  
CHAPTER 3: No Chance  
  
Harm was idly flipping through a magazine in front of him. If someone had asked him what kind of magazine it was, he wouldn't have been able to answer them. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to keep his mind distracted.  
  
"Commander Rabb," a deep male voice boomed out, startling him enough to drop the magazine.  
  
Recognizing the voice and out of habit, Harm rose from the couch and stood at attention.  
  
"Relax, Harm. I'm retired, it's AJ now," AJ told him.  
  
"Sorry, sir, I mean, AJ."  
  
"How is she?"  
  
"I don't know, nobody's told me anything yet. Sir, what are you doing here?" Harm knew that it wasn't just coincidence that his former commanding officer had joined him.  
  
AJ ignored the 'sir'. "Reverend Turner called me about a half hour ago. Seems he found someone who needed some company for a few hours and he suggested that I might be able to help," AJ explained, taking a seat in a nearby uncomfortable plastic chair.  
  
"And we thought we'd come along," someone added.  
  
Harm looked up to see Jen, Sturgis, Harriet, and Bud.  
  
"You all don't have to be here," he tried.  
  
"Harm, Mac's one of our own and so are you. Where else would we be?" Harriet asked.  
  
Nurse Bell watched from her chair as a group of people came in and joined the Commander. She smiled; glad that he would no longer be alone in his waiting. She had been worried about him, there was that look in his eyes as if he was lost and adrift. She turned back to her paperwork, jotting down a note about a patient she had just visited. All of the sudden, she heard herself being paged to the OR. She threw down her pen and rushed off, scurrying down the hall.  
  
She entered the large room and found the doctors and nurses trying to save the flat-lining patient.  
  
"We're losing her, damnit!" the doctor called out frantically. "Shock her! Again!"  
  
Bell watched as they feverishly tried to save the patient.  
  
"Doctor, I've got a pulse. It's faint but it's there," a nurse exclaimed.  
  
Everybody visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief before immediately going back to work. The sooner they finished up, the better. They didn't have much time left.  
  
(Hours later)  
  
"Here, Harm," Jen offered tentatively. "I've brought you some coffee."  
  
"Thanks," he said, taking the steaming cup from her outstretched hand and taking a sip of it. It dull, bland, and boring to his taste. He found himself missing the strong Marine coffee that Mac would make.  
  
"Harm, what is that?" Sturgis asked, pointing to Harm's hand. He had just caught sight of a wedding band on the ring finger.  
  
Harriet turned around to see what he was talking about and gasped, dropping her cup of coffee. It fell to the floor, the dark brown liquid splattering everywhere. At the sound of the splash, all the others looked at Harm then at the ring Harriet was pointing at for an explanation.  
  
He avoided their inquisitive looks, instead focusing on the cup in his hands. The silence was unbearable and he knew they would not let it rest until they found out. He just hoped that Mac would be okay with it all. He looked up, avoiding Harriet's eyes and looked directly at the Admiral. For some reason, Harm felt that the only acceptance he needed would come from this retired Seal. After all, who could inflict upon him more bodily harm over the rest of the crew? Just as he was about to answer, a doctor stepped forward.  
  
"Commander Rabb?" he asked.  
  
"Yes?" Harm stood up, feeling grateful to be spared of the moment yet apprehensive of what the doctor would tell him.  
  
Dr. Collins looked around at the rest of the group. "I need to speak to you in private, about your wife," he said, not wanting to violate doctor-client privilege.  
  
Harm set down his empty cup and avoiding everyone's stunned looks, he followed the doctor away from the group. The doctor's last comment should clue them in enough to keep them gossiping until he returned.  
  
"Is everything okay?" Harm asked, resting his hands on his hips.  
  
"Well..." Dr. Collins started.  
  
Bud looked at Harriet who looked at Sturgis who looked at the Admiral who looked at Coates.  
  
"What? I didn't know they were married," she exclaimed.  
  
"You live right down the hall from the Commander, didn't you notice that something was up?" Harriet asked.  
  
"I don't see him that often. Since Mattie moved out, it's like the two of us are on opposite ends of the earth," explained Jen, feeling a little hurt. Harm had been like a father to her, but when Mattie had decided to fix things with her dad, Harm had pulled back and out of her life as far as he possibly could. Maybe she reminded him of Mattie. She knew it was hard for him to let her slip out of his life.  
  
"Sturgis, you're his best friend. Did you know that he and Mac got married?" Harriet demanded to know. How such an important little detail about her good friends had slipped right by her, she didn't know.  
  
Sturgis shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't been Harm's best friend for years; Mac earned that role years ago. What about you, Admiral? Did you know anything about this?"  
  
AJ shook his head. "I didn't even know that Mac was sick," he said.  
  
"She almost died on us a couple of times. You have a very lucky wife there, Commander. She's doing fine now. She's still unconscious but she should wake up in a few hours. Sarah will feel sore and some pain in her abdomen area for a few days but unless it gets really bad, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Dr. Collins paused.  
  
"What else?" Harm tentatively asked.  
  
"She won't be able to have kids. The internal damage was too far-spread, I'm sorry."  
  
The rest of the doctor's explanation was a blur after Harm heard that. No kids. How would Mac handle that news? She had always wanted kids, especially after being a big sister to Chloe. After everything they'd been through, they were still having more trials thrown at them.  
  
"When can I see her?" he eagerly asked.  
  
"In a few minutes, we're moving her right now to her own room in ICU. We'd like to keep her here for about a week, maybe less, just to see how things are going," suggested Dr. Collins.  
  
Harm nodded. "No chance whatsoever?"  
  
"None," he assured Harm.  
  
Harm sighed in regret. He blamed himself for this. Now there was no way they could keep their baby deal. She'd never know the joy of holding a child of their own. She could have known. If only he'd told her sooner how much he loved her. His actions showed her plenty but she needed to hear the words. Only when she was nearly dying did those words spring from his mouth. It was all his fault. 


	4. Chapter 4: Just Harm and Sarah

AN: Sometimes it's there and sometimes it's not, in my case this delay was caused by writer's block.

CHAPTER 4: Just Harm and Sarah

He avoided returning to the group and waited patiently for a few minutes until the doctor returned.

"You can come see her now," Dr. Collins said.

"Thanks." Harm followed the doctor down the long white hallway to one of the more secluded, corner rooms.

"I'll be back to check on her in a few hours. If you need to get a hold of me, the nurse at the desk can page me."

Harm took a deep breath and opened the door. Mac was lying asleep on the small hospital bed, dressed in one of the cream-colored hospital gowns. Her hair was loosely spread out across the pillow, framing her pale, yet still beautiful face. She was hooked up to no more than three machines, their tubes feeding in and out of various parts of her body. He wondered briefly if she felt the same way he did now when he had crashed his plane into the cold ocean the night before her wedding.

No, the situation was totally different then. Even though both had been life-threatening situations, ones that threatened to take away some of the things they loved most, now they were together. They would go through this together, he decided. He wouldn't let her suffer though this alone.

Feeling a little stronger and more confident than he had in a long time, he pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down. He reached out to gently take her hand in his and immediately felt the coolness of her ring against his skin. He twisted it around slowly, so that the diamond setting was centered on top as he let his thoughts drift back to their short, albeit sweet wedding.

It was one of her better days and since he had the week off from work, they had decided to spend it doing something special. They spent the early morning walking around Rock Creek Park, hands joined together as they shared their dreams, hopes, passions, childhood stories, never once mentioning any of their regrets or discussing the darker, tough times of their relationship.

Mac had noticed that Harm seemed a little nervous but ignored it, passing it off as just being tired. If only she knew the thoughts running through his mind at that moment.

Harm was tired but more nervous than any other time he had been in his life. He wanted to marry Mac, he had wanted to wed her for years, but he was afraid of her thinking that he was just doing it because she was sick. The truth was that there was just a calmness in their relationship that had never been there before; things felt right, the stars had aligned, planets were in place, fate had brought them together in a rose garden and Harm wanted the paths of their lives to be intertwined together forever.

He had had enough of their waiting and their dancing around, he was ready. He had carried the ring around in his pocket for days now, hoping that an opportunity would present itself and if it didn't, then it simply wasn't mean to be. It was as simple as that.

And then it happened. They were standing on a bridge, gazing out at the park and watching the kids playing, dogs running around, and adults relaxing. Harm held Mac in his arms, tightly but gently, not wanting to hurt her. Not a word was spoken, but none needed to be. The bright sunlight shone down on them, its rays shining through the branches of the leafy trees, dancing and glimmering upon the trickling water.

Mac felt Harm's arm move away and she turned around as he reached into his jacket pocket, searching for something. Her eyes widened and she let out a little gasp as he pulled out a small jewelry box and opened it up to reveal the most beautiful, perfect engagement ring she had ever seen. The sunlight flickered and reflected on the diamond, bringing forth a whole rainbow of colors.

She looked up to find his deep blue eyes focused on her intently.

"Marry me?" he asked.

"Why?" It wasn't a question mean to hurt him, just one to voice her own self-doubt. She needed some sort of reassurance of his actions.

"Because I love you," he answered simply.

She gave him a sweet smile as she nodded her head slowly. "Yes, because I love you."

Harm slid the ring on her finger and leaned down to brush his lips against hers in a sweet kiss.

Feeling more at peace than she had in years, she kissed him back and then turned around in his arms to look back at the park, leaning back against his chest.

"Let's do it today," she said impulsively.

"Do what today?"

"Get married. We'll find a justice of peace and a couple of witnesses and get married today."

"You don't want to wait?"

"Harm, it just feels right. I know we should be waiting and planning this huge event where we could invite all our friends and family, but I want to be married to you today. If everything goes well over these next several weeks, then we'll plan a bigger ceremony, but for now, I just want something small and simple," she pleaded with him.

"Fine," he found himself agreeing with her. "We'll go do it tonight."

And they did. It was what she wanted and he somehow managed to pull it all together that night. Roses were a must, that they both agreed on. They were going to have a small, simple, intimate ceremony so that they, Harm and Sarah, could get married. It wasn't going to be a huge production of Commander Harmon David Rabb Jr. marrying Colonel Sarah Catherine Mackenzie, it was just Harm and Sarah. He wore a simple navy blue three-piece suit while she found a cream-colored dress buried in her closet that was deemed perfect. It wasn't his dress whites and it wasn't an extravagant wedding gown but nevertheless it was perfect for their setting.

The minutes passed, the "I do's" were said, and they were soon married, and in the car, heading to his apartment. She had sold her place a few weeks ago and had moved in with him so that he could take care of her and help her when she was sick. Now his self-built bachelor pad was their home.

There was no honeymoon, just time spent together sharing their love. It was just Harm and Sarah.

_AN: I know this isn't the grand and wonderful wedding that we've all dreamed of at one time or another for Harm and Mac but I was just thinking that maybe they just want to get away sometimes from all the military rules and regulations, get away from all their daily routines, and just be themselves, Harm and Sarah, for once. I know that I'd rather have them get married at the Naval Academy, full military wedding with dress whites and the archway, surrounded by all their loving friends and family, But more often than not, short and simple is much, much sweeter._


	5. Chapter 5: Group Thoughts

CHAPTER 5: Group Thoughts

Jen sat in one of the stiff chairs, nervously wringing her hands every few minutes. She blamed herself for not noticing something. But lately she had been too worried about preparing for the new JAG that she thought nothing of the fact that Mac had taken leave until further notice or that Harm was showing up at JAG less and less. He showed up late in the morning, worked hard through lunch, and if he could, left early. She should have noticed something when Mac had raced from her office to the bathroom, pale and clutching her stomach. And if that wasn't enough, she should have noticed that Harm went chasing after her, with that worried look on his face, the one that was there too often lately.

Sturgis sat in the opposite corner of the room from her, wondering how a simple detail like his best friend getting married had managed to elude him for so long. He and Harm had never really been best friends since their Academy years but still.

AJ was questioning his judgments over the years, going as far back as placing them together as partners to recently not letting Harm come back to JAG after Paraguay. He knew that both the Commander and the Colonel would stop at nothing to save the other's six, their actions over the past several years only proved that. He had tried to interfere sometimes, like with the whole Russia mess. He had let Mac "spread her wings" and he had willingly taken her back, why hadn't he done the same with Harm? But then again, he had been easier on them than most commanding officers would have been though the years.

Bud was watching his wife pace nervously and frantically across the small waiting room. She was frustrated at not having noticed the earlier signs of Harm and Mac being in a relationship. She prided herself on being up on the office gossip and for once an important detail had slipped her by. Bud was just worried about the Colonel and hoping that all was going well with the surgery.

All were wondering about how much they really knew about the Commander and the Colonel. No one knew exactly what took place down in Paraguay or what caused Harm's brief job as a CIA operative. It had been hard not to notice at Mac's engagement party how much time she and Harm spent out on the Admiral's porch 'talking'. Had any of them ever really known how things were between Harm and Mac?

"Sir?" Jen started nervously, looking up at the Admiral.

"What Coates?" AJ said.

"Do you think...that maybe...he's just pretending they're married...you know, so that he can be here and see her?" she asked.

AJ shook his head. "No, they've been each other's emergency medical contacts for years. That grants them all the privileges that real family members have. I've seen them do just about everything for each other, the fact that they got married wouldn't surprise me."

"But sir, what about regulations? If they're married...I don't get it," Harriet put in.

AJ was about to answer when he caught sight of the doctor that had spoken to Harm returning to the front desk to fill out some paperwork. Harm had done it again, he was escaping telling them the truth. AJ rose from his seat and headed over to talk to the doctor.

"Doctor? How is Colonel Mackenzie?" AJ asked.

Dr. Collins stared at him until recognition dawned in his eyes. "Ahh, you mean Colonel Rabb. I'm afraid that I can't tell you much."

"How serious is it?"

"Pretty bad," answered Dr. Collins, slipping the clipboard back into its slot. "Admiral, I'm afraid I can't tell you any more. I can go inform the Commander that you are waiting out here though."

"Don't bother him now," AJ said, knowing that Harm would rather be with Mac at the moment than come out and give the rest of the JAG crew answers. Even as much as they needed to, and deserved to have them. "When he comes out, just let him know that we're here for him. For them."

The doctor nodded. "Will do."

AJ sighed and returned to the waiting group. They all watched him, hoping that he at least had some answers. He looked around at them, one by one. They were all hopeful, yet fearful and distraught with worry over two of their favorite people. Harm and Mac meant so much to all of them. He had missed working at JAG HQ and sometimes wished that he hadn't retired. He knew it was time that he did and he was grateful to be free of the stress that it caused but he missed working with all of them.

"Come on, people, let's head home," he said gruffly.

"But sir," Harriet protested.

"The Commander and the Colonel need some time together. We can all come back later." His tone was gentle yet still filled with authority.

Jen opened her mouth to protest but closed it with a look from AJ. The group gathered up their things and headed out to their separate cars.

Meanwhile back in one of the hospital rooms, a man knelt beside a bed pleading with God to make it all right.

AN: I know it's short but the next chapter will be posted soon, I promise. I'm just beginning to adjust to college life, so if anyone has any advice, please tell me! Thanks. 


	6. Chapter 6: Can't Take It Anymore

AN: This story will get better and happer, I promise. I hope that everyone is enjoying it and I apologize for giving you more angst and drama but the words and ideas just seemed to flow in this direction.

If you have any ideas or suggestions on how or where to go, they would be greatly appreciated. I'm slowly working my way out of the pit we like to call writer's block but could use a helping hand up.

* * *

Chapter 6: Can't take it anymore

The nurse didn't have the heart to wake the tall, dark-haired man. He was curled up, as best as he could, in a chair sleeping next to the hospital bed. If not for the wearied look on his face and the dark circles under his closed eyes, she would have thought him quite handsome but the sight of the gold wedding band on one of his fingers stopped her wistful thoughts. He was taken and from the looks of it, quite devoted to his wife. She finished running her tests on the still unconscious woman, marked the results down on the chart and quietly left the room.

A few hours later, Harm's ocean-colored eyes fluttered open and he groaned as he shifted in the seat. He was too tall to sleep in the chair and now his body would be complaining about the restless night he had spent in it. He immediately looked over at his wife but she was still asleep. The doctor had said that they had used heavy medication and that it might take a while for her to wake up but that fact didn't quell Harm's fears. He reached out to gently brush her hair back behind her ears.

"You're so beautiful, Sarah," he whispered, wishing she would wake so he could tell her. Why didn't he tell her earlier? He let out a soft groan of regret. He had wasted so many chances, so much time over the years. She was right, the only time he went after her was when she was already halfway out the door. "I am such an idiot," he muttered to himself. She had waited so many times for him, helped him so much and what had he always done? Pulled away from her, that's what.

"Commander?"

Harm's head shot up as a voice seemed to have come out from nowhere. AJ Chegwidden stood in the doorway.

"Harm, how is she?" AJ began, with a softer tone. He knew that it would be best to go easy on Rabb, especially with Mac in such a condition.

Harm wearily rubbed his eyes. "Not good, sir."

"What happened?" AJ had no idea what was going on or what had caused the need for Mac to have surgery.

"She was having back pains...I made her visit a doctor...they mentioned something about tests and the possibility of cancer...it was the night of your retirement party when she told me. She's been through treatments and tried endless amounts of medications...this surgery is the last option...but she's dying," Harm bitterly explained.

"How are you holding up?"

"Me? I don't know any more..." Harm trailed off to look back at the form of his still sleeping wife. "Sometimes it just hurts so much. Everything I've done or haven't done to cause her pain. What happened in Australia was so unbearable for a while. Paraguay was just a mess. I dropped everything in my life for her and she wasn't ready. It took me so many damn years to get my head out of my six and tell her how I feel. There was so much wasted time and I've caused her so much pain. I've never wanted to hurt her, I was just so afraid of losing her. But through it all, I just wanted her to be happy. The hardest thing I've ever had to do is let her go. I let her walk away from JAG so she could spread her wings, I let her get engaged to Brumby because I thought that she would be happy. Even through all that, it still hurt her. Now she's dying and I can't make her happy anymore. I can't give her what she wants, I've never been able to give her what she needs. I've screwed up so badly," Harm ranted, finally running out of breath and his emotional exhaustion taking over. Tears began to silently run down his face and he buried his face in his hands, unable to face the man who had been like a father to him during his years at JAG HQ.

AJ stepped closer to put a comforting hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Harm, the last thing she would want for you to do right now is blame yourself. Both of you have had your fair share of mistakes over the years."

"But I've hurt her so badly and I hate myself for that!"

"She loves you despite all of that."

"I don't know why."

"Doesn't matter why, son, she just does."

Harm didn't respond, he just continued in avoiding looking at his commanding officer and instead focused on Mac.

"Harm? The others would like to come visit."

"She didn't want any of them to know."

" I've told them all to wait until it's okay with you. I know you probably just want to be alone with Sarah right now but they need to see her. They need to know that she's okay. Little AJ overheard Bud and Harriet talking about her and he won't stop begging to see her. They need to know, Harm," AJ firmly told him.

Harm opened his mouth to respond but Mac started to move. The two men watched as she tossed from side to side, moaning as if in pain. She called out for Harm to help her, to save her but he could only watch helplessly. He stood over her, gently holding her arms down so as not to jostle the tubes but she wouldn't wake from her nightmare. It was killing him, to hear her cry out his name and being completely unable to save her.

Minutes later, she seemed to have calmed down and her nightmare to have passed. She lay back, her body still and calm but her chest rising with each breath she took. She looked quite peaceful and relaxed.

Harm, however, was a different matter. He was already on the edge of emotional exhaustion. As he had been filling in temporarily as the new JAG, the work had just seemed to be at a constant flow to his desk. He had barely been able to keep up with it. The office had been short two lawyers, Singer's position had never been filled and they were already short-handed but when Mac had no other choice but to take sick leave, things had become tense and overwhelmingly busy around the office. Harm was caused endless stress on a daily basis as he tried to keep everything running and in order.

Then he would come home to Sarah. Lately, there had been more bad days than good ones and so he would help her with her medication and listen to her as she unloaded all her fears, worries, and concerns about dying. She was scared and he was her rock, listening to her and calming her, soothing away her fears. He had to be stable for her because she couldn't be.

Half the time, she was up all night sick. Everytime she woke up and rushed off to the bathroom, so would he. There was hardly a time when she moved that he wasn't there right by her side in a manner of seconds. Normally she would have given him that "I'm a marine and I can handle it" speech but the truth was it wasn't a normal situation and she couldn't deal with it alone.

He was being pulled at from all different directions and was about to break. To hear her cry out for him and not be able to do anything was just the last breaking point. Completely forgetting that AJ was right behind him, Harm collapsed onto the floor and cried.

AJ knelt down beside him and put an arm around the man who had been like a son to him over the past several years. Harm's body was wracked with sobs as AJ softly said, "That's right, son, let it out. Let it all out."


	7. Chapter 7: Drawing Strength From One Ano...

AN: Yes, it's a little short and I apologize for that but it's flowing and I'm posting the chapters at a little faster pace so hopefully, that makes up for it.

I'm sorry I didn't warn people that tissues would be needed in the last chapter, or the whole story for that matter. I'm just glad to know that I'm touching your hearts one way or another.

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Chapter 7: Drawing Strength From One Another

An hour later, Harm reluctantly left the hospital. AJ had listened to him spill his story and then ordered him to go home and shower and get some sleep. Harm hadn't have wanted to leave at first but the final argument had been that Mac would have enough to worry about without needing to fret about Harm's health. So Harm had left with the promise to be back in the morning, only as long as AJ would stay with her.

Harm had driven home, his thoughts elsewhere. Somehow he managed to safely make it home. He had almost fallen asleep in the shower and after accidentally hitting his head against the wall nodding off, he had decided that AJ was right and he needed to get some sleep. He was already asleep before his head hit the pillow.

The next morning, Harm slowly fought his way awake. His body was fighting against him to still sleep. But a quick glance at the clock on his nightstand quickly forced him awake. It was almost seven o'clock! He had slept for nearly 20 hours. He felt a pang of guilt for leaving his wife's side for so long as he quickly dressed, ate a small breakfast and headed off to the hospital once again. He was glad that it was Saturday; no work to go off to.

When he arrived back at the hospital, he found AJ gone and Sturgis there.

"Has she woken up yet?" Harm asked hopefully.

Sturgis forgave the lack of greeting from his Academy friend and shook his head. "The doctor was in about an hour ago and he said that everything's fine and she should be waking up soon."

"When did you get here?"

"AJ called me late last night. Francesca's flight was due to arrive at one and he needed to go pick her up. How are you holding up?" Truth be told, Sturgis already knew about Harm's little break-down from AJ.

"I've been better." Harm wasn't focusing on his friend at all. His attention was, as it always had been, on Mac.

Sturgis sighed. He knew where Harm's mind was. Where it had always been. Sarah Mackenzie had managed to capture Harm's heart in a way that no other woman had done before. Not even Diane had such a tight hold over him.

"You two are married?" Sturgis asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Harm held up his hand, showing the gold wedding band in response. His other hand held Mac's tightly.

"When?"

"A couple weeks ago."

"She's good for you, buddy."

"She keeps me grounded in life."

Seeing that he wasn't going to get much more out of Harm, Sturgis patted him on the back and said, "Anytime you need to talk or need help, let me know."

Harm finally tore his gaze away from his wife and looked up into the worried eyes of his good friend. "Thanks."

"I'll be by later." With that, Sturgis left, shutting the door shut behind him.

* * *

_Back in Mac's hospital room_

Harm took her small right hand in both of his, gently caressing it. "Sarah, honey, please wake up soon. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I need to know that you're all right. I need you. My life is pointless and meaningless without you. Everyone's so worried about you. Little AJ keeps asking Bud and Harriet when he gets to see you. Sarah, I need you," he pleaded desperately. His tears threatened to spill over and he buried his head on her bed, trying to keep his emotions in check.

The minutes just seemed to pass and all of the sudden he felt a hand on his head, fingers feebly running through his dark hair. He heard his name whispered and he lifted his head up to look at Mac, her chocolate brown eyes holding him captive.

"Harm," she said softly, finally getting his attention. She gave him a weak and tired smile.

"Oh, Sarah."

She held her arms out to him and he quickly but carefully gathered her up in his arms and held her close against him.

"I love you so much," he murmured over and over again, his face buried in her soft dark hair.

Mac let him draw strength off of her. She sensed that he was vulnerable and weak, these past weeks must have taken their toll on him. They needed each other, they were addicted to each other, they were each other's lifeline. Whatever the one was feeling, the other one often felt the same pain. They were inextricably bound together, their hearts beating as one. They were soul mates, there was no other way to describe it.

Nurse Bell slowly opened the door and peered in. There had been a beeping from the Colonel's room, letting the nurses desk know that she was awake. When she saw the Commander and Colonel locked in a tight embrace, she smiled and quietly shut the door. She could check on the Colonel in a few minutes.


	8. Chapter 8: I’d Rather Just Have You And ...

AN: Let me know what you think honestly. I need to know if I've still got it or if I'm just drifting away with this story.

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Chapter 8: I'd Rather Just Have You And Only You

Harm finally but reluctantly released Sarah from his arms and tenderly laid her back against the soft hospital bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking her hand in his once again. He was afraid that if he didn't keep a hold on her, that she would just disappear.

"Tired. Sore. Happy."

"Why happy?"

"Because you're still here with me," answered Mac.

"I'll always be with you, Sarah," Harm earnestly promised.

She smiled faintly and then winced as a flash of pain shot through her stomach. She squeezed his hand as another wave of pain traveled through her then let out a sigh of relief and settled back down as it passed.

"Sarah?"

"I'm fine, Harm," she assured him. "What did the doctor say?"

Harm almost blanched, how as he supposed to tell her that she would never be a mother? That she would never be able to hold a little one of her, their, own in her arms?

"He said it went well," he told her, purposely being vague.

"What else did he say?" Mac was watching him. His mouth may lie but his beautiful green eyes would never betray his true emotions. He was holding back something.

"You can't...you'll never be able to...God, I'm so sorry, Sarah. It wasn't supposed to be like this," he broke down, burying his face in his hands.

Mac understood almost immediately. She thought that she had prepared herself for the possibility of never having kids but the pain was something else. But why was Harm acting like this? He wasn't blaming himself, was he? She wasn't worried about not being able to have kids right now, there were plenty of other ways and options for them to still have kids. Adoption had always been a strong alternative. Right now she was more worried about her husband. A somber look masked his face and he just seemed so distraught and stressed.

"Harm, it's not your fault," she began.

"Damnit, Sarah, it might as well be. I thought things were getting better with us. I thought we had time. We wasted so much time but we were, are, so perfect for each other. I thought...I thought that it would work out. I know you wanted kids so badly and now you can't, I hate that," he nearly yelled.

"There are other options." Surprisingly, she was not getting angry with him at all. Maybe it was the medication or maybe it was just the way her illness had made her change her outlook on life. Not being able to have kids was not the end of the world.

But she was not arguing with Harm. She recognized that he was worried and overcome with stress and that he just needed to vent. If he didn't then he would bottle it all up inside and he had been doing that for far too long.

"I know how much you wanted to be a mom," he told her wistfully, finally beginning to calm down. He sat back down next to her on the edge of the bed.

She reached out to link her fingers with his. "I know. But there are other options. And at least I have you. I'm willing to sacrifice kids just so I can be with you."

He gave her an attempt at his usual flyboy smile but fell short.

"And besides," she said, grinning, "You're enough of a child sometimes that I don't know if I could handle more."

"Hey," he protested. This time she was graced with a real flyboy grin.

"You are sometimes," continued Sarah, pleased that she was finally getting him to smile.

"I've gotten better."

"Yeah, but only when the Marines had to come in and keep you under control."

"Only a certain Marine can keep me under control," he flirted.

"Anyone I know?" she said, playing naïve and innocent.

"Maybe, looks totally beautiful in marine greens."

"Really? I'll have to tell Gunny you think so," she said with mock jealousy.

Harm laughed out loud at that and Sarah joined in. It had been so long since either of them had truly laughed and really enjoyed being so comfortable with each other in a situation like this.

* * *

AN: Please review!


	9. Chapter 9: Losing Control

AN: This chapter is full of shipperness! I don't think that a tissue warning is required for this one unless you are a hopeless romantic like me.

* * *

Chapter 9: Losing Control

The hours seemed to drag on slowly as Harm and Sarah just talked. The doctor had been by to check on her progress and had promptly left when he found everything to be going well.

"Harm," Sarah began hesitantly.

"What is it?" he asked, reaching out to gently caress her cheek with his right hand.

She leaned into his hand and sighed in happiness. With just one touch, he had her heart fluttering and her stomach filled with butterflies. Just the simple whisper of her name seemed to leave her trembling at the knees. She wished she could just continue to let him in his ministrations but he was distracting her from what she needed to say. But before she could speak, he leaned in and cupped her face in his hands.

"Sarah," he whispered, his voice deep and husky. He closed the distance between them and brushed his lips against her soft ones, continuing to draw strength from the kiss. Before she could come to her senses and deepen the kiss as she always wanted, he pulled back slightly, a slight smile gracing his face.

"I've missed you. God, you're beautiful," murmured Harm, leaning in again.

She didn't fight him at all, just giving in to her heart and not to her head. This time he had barely deepened the kiss when she felt the need to pull away. She just needed to breath a little, she wasn't up to her full strength yet and his kisses were drawing so much from her.

He reached out and ran his fingers along the outline of her slightly swollen lips, hoping that she couldn't see how defenseless and helpless she was making him but knowing that she did.

Sarah decided that what she needed to say could be brought up later and she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she focused on his tender touches.

"Say it again," she begged.

"You're beautiful, Sarah Rabb," he whispered. "And I love you."

She kissed the tips of his fingers that were still touching her mouth before responding, "I love you too."

Those four words were all it took. Harm's control went flying out the window and the fact that they were in the hospital seemed to be forgotten. He pulled his hand away and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a searing kiss. He was hurting inside and he needed a release. His simple confessions and outbursts of words in front of AJ and then Sarah had not taken it all away from him. He poured all his emotion and his whole soul into the kiss.

Mac was just about to lose herself in his kiss when she heard a knocking on the door.

Startled, she tried to pull away but he wasn't ready to stop. "Harm," she moaned. "Stop." The door opened and a nurse walked in just as Harm pulled back. He didn't seem to notice the nurse as he gazed into his wife's eyes, worried and fearful that he had somehow hurt her.

"Colonel Rabb? Is everything okay?" the petite blond-haired nurse asked.

"Everything's fine. Why?" Mac managed to tear her gaze away from Harm's captivating eyes long enough to look at the nurse.

"Your heartbeat was increasing at a rapid rate and it set the machine off. I just need to make sure that you're all right," she explained. As she looked between the two, she knew immediately what had caused the abnormal rate of increase.

Harm and Mac blushed, fearing that they were caught and both not caring somehow.

"May I suggest that you take it slower next time, Commander Rabb?" the nurse slyly suggested. She turned on her heel and headed out, leaving behind an even more embarrassed Harm and a laughing Mac.

"She's right, you know? Your kisses do send my heart racing," Mac lightly teased.

"I'm glad I can still do that to you."

"You have always done that to me," she countered.

"Even when we kissed at your engagement party?" he hesitantly asked.

"Even then," she assured him. The hurt and pain and memories that came with that event and the many others tied to it were not forgotten but all was forgiven.

They continued to gaze into each other's eyes, becoming lost in the depths within. Had it been anyone else under the other's intense stare, they would have looked away in discomfort but Harm and Sarah only reveled in the knowledge that they had permission to look at each other like that.

His eyes full of love for her, but there was the glint of fear in them. Was he scared? Scared of what? Of losing her, maybe? "When you look at me like that, what do you see?" Mac asked.

He gazed back at her intently, his blue eyes focused on her chocolate brown eyes. "I see a desirable woman whom I love, a Marine that doesn't easily nor willingly back down from a challenge. I see a beautiful woman who when I'm with her makes me a better person. I see my best friend and partner who has saved my six countless times. I see the woman who has captured my heart nine years ago in a place where the scenery didn't even begin to compare to her beauty. And I see my wife, the only woman who I could ever imagine growing old with."

By now, Mac had tears streaming down her face. For all the times this man had messed up and emotionally hurt her, he could come back and say or do some pretty nice things.

"Don't cry, ninja girl," he said softly, reaching out to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks.

"I don't know how I ever lived without you, Harmon Rabb," she whispered, her voice soft and full of love.

"And I without you," he returned. He leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers, this time keeping it short but sweet.

He heard her sigh of disappointment at its quickness but the look in his eyes assured her that he would make it up in the future.

They continued to talk and about an hour later, they were interrupted by a tentative knock on the door.

"Come in," Harm called out, leaning back in his chair to see who would be visiting. To his complete and entire surprise, it was Mattie and her dad.

By mutual agreement among all involved, it had been decided a couple months ago that it would be best for Mattie to return to living with her father. Harm hated it, and he hated letting her go but he knew that she needed to be with her real dad. They were family and they needed to learn to be one together. So Harm had let her go and the day after she had packed up and left, he had broken down in tears with Mac there to comfort him. He was so tired of losing everyone that ever meant something to him in his life. First his father, then Diane, and now Mattie. The fear of losing Mac would be too much for him and so that was the first time that he told her that he loved her. Not as a partner, not as a best friend, but as a woman.

Mattie had sometimes called him just to say hi and ask for advice. She missed him terribly but had moved to a point where she was just beginning to understand her father. So when she had called Jen Coates for one of their friendly little chats and found out that Mac was in the hospital, having undergone serious life-threatening surgery, Mattie had wanted to be there in an instant. When she told Tom, her dad, the news about Mac, he immediately suggested that they go over and visit her. He was grateful for the Colonel, what she had said to him from one recovering alcoholic to another had saved his life and had given him hope to change it.

Now they stood in the doorway, Mattie in front of her father, both a little hesitant and unsure of what to say or how to begin. Harm solved all of their nervousness when he released Mac's hand and stood, moving to hug Mattie tightly. When they had pulled away he offered his hand to Tom Johnson who after a brief pause of hesitation shook it. Things had been awkward between Tom and Harm but Harm had done his best to try and make it comfortable.

"Hi, Mattie. What brings you out here?" Mac greeted, sitting up a little in the bed.

Mattie was shocked. Mac was pale and looked to be only a ghost of her normal self. She still had that glint of Marine Colonel strength in her eyes but Mattie had never seen Mac look so weak and tired.

"Mattie, I'm okay. Everything's going to be okay," assured Mac. She held out her arms to the young teenager.

In an action completely uncharacteristically not her, Mattie fell into Mac's open arms in a hug. In Mattie's mind, Mac had always been invincible and strong and to see her like this now...it scared her.

As Mattie pulled back from her hug, she caught sight of something glimmering on Mac's ring finger. She gasped in surprise, recognizing immediately the ring that belonged to the Rabb family. She had been looking for one of Harm's t-shirts to use as a pajama top when she had discovered the black velvet jewelry box in his top dresser drawer. Curiosity had gotten the better of her and when Harm had caught her looking at it, she had gotten him to explain the reason behind having it to her.

It was the ring that his grandfather had given to Sarah Rabb when they were married, it was the ring given to Trish when his father had proposed and now it was his to give to the woman he loved enough to be his wife. Mattie had instantly asked when he would be giving it to Mac and a strange look had crossed his face. It was his "I'm embarrassed but going to hide it" look. He had fumbled around with words, saying that she wouldn't want it.

"What?....When?" Mattie gasped, looking up at Harm then back at Mac. "Are you two married?"

Mac and Harm could only nod. Mattie had been an important part of his life and he should have told her that he had gotten married but they hadn't have wanted to tell anyone. They had just wanted it to be small, just the two of them and so she hadn't been informed. Now they awaited her reaction.

"Finally. I can't believe that it took you two so long. When did it happen? How did he propose? When did you get married?" Mattie was full of questions.

"Well," Mac began with a look at Harm, "We were at the park..." Both couldn't seem to keep from grinning as they told their story to an enthralled Mattie.


	10. Chapter 10: Perfect Loves & the New JAG

AN: I would like to thank _joshklar_ for his wonderful review on one of my other stories (Broken Linked Hearts). It was so wonderfully inspiring and uplifting to me as a writer and as a person. If you are him and are reading this, please email me with your email, I would love to ask your advice on several ideas. The one that you had in my review was very beneficial and I admit that as a developing writer, I could use all the help and advice I can get.

Hopefully, you are all still enjoying this story. The chapters are getting longer and more detailed, ideas and constructive criticism are always accepted!

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Chapter 10: Perfect Loves & The New JAG

_A Few Weeks Later_

_Harm's Loft_

Harm twisted in his desk chair, trying to straighten out the knots in his sore back. He had been trying to get some work done in preparation for the new JAG's impending arrival but had been constantly distracted by looking over at Mac. She was still sleeping peacefully in their bed, nestled in among the sheets and blankets. It was such an angelic sight that Harm couldn't seem to resist looking at her every few minutes.

It had been a long hard past couple weeks. Mattie had been so thrilled to find that her one-time guardian had finally gotten married to the one woman who had held his heart captive for so long. After the four of them had spent an hour talking, she had hugged them goodbye and left, whispering "I miss you" to each of them. They had promised to stay in touch more often.

He sighed with the memory that had followed that day. Mac had sat him down, made him promise that he would listen until she was finished talking before he would say a word. Confused, but trusting, he had agreed, sitting there as she spilled her decision and the reasoning behind it.

Mac had decided that it was best to retire from the Marine Corps. Harm opened his mouth to protest when he remembered his promise. She said that it was just time that she moved on to something new. She knew she wouldn't have the strength to do her duty in an acceptable manner, physically or emotionally. It's not that being at JAG wasn't important anymore, she just felt that it was time to move on. When she was done he had asked her only one question.

"_Will you be happy?"_

"_I am happy, Harm, when I'm with you. This is what I'm supposed to be doing right now. This is where I'm supposed to be," she had answered._

And that was the end of it. She had submitted her resignation to Harm and he had reluctantly signed off on it. The rest of the office staff had been shocked when Harm had announced that Colonel MacKenzie had decided to retire, only her close friends understood the thought and purpose behind the decision. Harm had yet to fill her spot, even though the office desperately needed more lawyers. He just didn't have the heart to see someone else in her office. Truth be told, neither did anyone else. The Colonel had meant so much to them that they were all a little broken-hearted too.

Many of them had expressed to Harm a desire to stop by and see Mac in the hospital but it was her wish that none of them see her like this. She wanted them to remember the tough-as-nails kick-ass Marine Colonel, not weak and broken-down like she felt she was. Harm fielded requests and wishes between the two groups for several days before the JAG crew gave up on him and all just showed up at Bethesda to see Mac.

They all brought gifts, flowers, get-well cards, and the like. She was so surprised and so happy that the sight actually brought tears to her eyes. They all had a good visit and were chatting happily until Harm walked in. He looked at everyone, then at Sarah, then back at the others, specifically at Harriet. Knowing her like he did, she would be the one responsible for this. Sarah hadn't wanted any of them to be here, to visit her, what was he to do? Did she want him to kick them all out? She seemed to be enjoying their company but she had been so adamant about not having visitors while she was so sick.

"Sarah?" he asked. She understood his unspoken question and the reasoning behind his current look of confusion.

"Come here, Harm, I was just about to tell the story of our wedding day," she said, reaching a hand out to him. Had the look on her face been anything other than complete peace and calm, he would have objected. Instead, he smiled and sat down in the empty chair right next to her bed.

Harriet, Bud, Jen, Sturgis, and various other caring JAG officers were there as well as AJ were there. They needed to see her, to know that she was okay.

"You don't have to if you don't want to, ma'am," Bud tried.

"No, it's time we explain everything," Harm admitted. Holding his wife's hand in his, he lifted her slender hand to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss on it.

She smiled back at him, wondering whatever had caused them to wait so long to finally love one another. He was constantly at her side, something she pretended to be annoyed at but secretly enjoyed. He was always showering her with kind gestures and sweet kisses, never pushing her for anything, letting her set the pace in their relationship. Harmon Rabb Jr. had finally let go and they had both never felt so freer in their lives.

"Well, Harm played hooky from work one day," began Mac with a grin on her face.

"I was not playing hooky," he stated indignantly.

AJ silently laughed, knowing that the younger man would rather spend his days, and nights for that matter, at home with Sarah than at work. He hated doing paperwork but there had been no one else to fill in from HQ but him. Mac was out of the question, Sturgis was busy with several big cases and didn't need the extra load and stress and Bud wasn't senior enough. He knew Rabb could survive the few weeks that it took for his old position to be filled.

"Commander," he said gruffly.

"Sir?" Harm gulped.

"I thought I left you in charge to work, not to 'play hooky' every day," AJ continued.

"Sir, I haven't been...that is to say... I haven't been skipping work...," Harm fumbled over his words, at a loss in front of who he still felt was his commanding officer. Old habits were hard to break.

"Harm, it's AJ. I'm retired now and I'm glad to see that you finally found something more important than your career and finally acted on it," AJ said.

"So am I," Mac spoke up.

The rest of the group broke into relieved smiles, finally seeing that the intimidating retired NAVY SEAL was just teasing Rabb.

"Back to the story," prompted Harriet.

"Harm took the day off and we decided to spend the day at the park." Mac proceeded to tell them the whole story, leaving out certain details that she was sure they did not need to know (the fact that she and Harm made out for nearly half an hour after she said yes). Harm listened to her spin her tale, filling in a few missing details here and there that he felt she missed. She made it sound so perfect and like a fairytale. He could just see her telling stories to their children one day. They had decided to examine all options over the next few months and keep trying. Adoption was something they would both love to do, but they were saving it as a last resort.

"That's simply perfect," Jen sighed when it was done with.

"She is," Harm agreed, looking directly at his wife.

The others saw the look that was passed between the two and smiled, but they missed the silent words of communication. Harm and Mac had always been like that, know what they other was thinking by just looking into the other's eyes.

Several more hours passed by as the group continued to talk, telling stories of past escapades and actions.

* * *

JAG HQ

The days seemed to move by slowly. Mac was better, their marriage and friendship was flourishing in a way that it never had, and everything was running smoothly. For once in their lives, everything seemed to be on track and good.

Then Harm received a memo from the SECNAV informing him of the new JAG. He saw the name on the paper and nearly fainted in disbelief and near horror.

_Admiral Allison Krennick._

Via the intercom, he ordered Coates to hold all his calls for the next hour unless it was the SECNAV or someone more important. He rubbed his forehead as a pounding headache seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He could barely handle this woman when she was a Commander years ago, how could he handle her now? He was sure that her personality hadn't changed much over the years. He was married, he was taken, but that wouldn't stop her, of that he was sure.

Mindlessly, he picked up the phone and dialed home.

"Hi, Harm," Mac greeted.

"Hey," he returned. Had he been thinking normally, he would have asked her how she knew it was him but he wasn't.

"What's wrong, flyboy?" She instantly picked up on his bad mood. She just had a sense about these things when it came to him.

"We're getting a new JAG next week," he told her.

"That's great. Less stress for you. Who is it going to be?"

"Krennick."

"Who?"

"Admiral Allison Krennick."

"Is this the same woman who kept coming on to you when she was your superior officer?" Mac asked, already worried.

"Yeah," Harm answered helplessly.

"I'm sorry, Harm. But maybe she's changed. Maybe she's learned to behave in a better manner," Mac said, trying to cheer him up. Harm hadn't told her the full and complete story about Krennick's antics, just a general idea. Mac would go into full Marine-mode if she ever knew and the less stress she dealt with right now, the better.

"Yeah, and maybe we'll be attacked by aliens tomorrow," he threw back.

"Harm, why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? You can come home and relax. Then when Krennick arrives, you can be calm and focused. You need to give her the benefit of the doubt right now." Mac hated saying that, but they had to play nice for now until she did something. If they went in with their defenses up, sparks might fly.

"I wish I could but I've got to sign these reports, distribute new cases and finish some paperwork before next week," he said, already tired. His headache was only getting worse with each passing minute.

"Are you going to stay late?"

"I'll try not to. How are you feeling, Sarah?"

"It's a good day," she lied. He was so distracted that he didn't pick up on her tone. Usually he would have caught it right away, they were just in sync like that, but he was just too worried. She normally would have told him the truth but she felt that he had too much to deal with. They had promised to be honest with each other and keep the lines of communication open and this was the first time she had lied to him since they had gotten married. Sometimes, you had to put the needs and feelings of the other person above and ahead of your own, no matter how bad yours may be.

"I'll be home soon," he promised.

"Okay, flyboy, as long as you're coming home to me," she teased, trying to take his mind off of Krennick.

"Don't I always?" he shot back.

"So far, so good," laughed Mac.

"I love you, Sarah," he said, getting serious.

"I love you too." Those words were not easily spoken and both knew that. That fact alone made them appreciate those three little words even more each time they were said.

* * *

Harm signed off on the last file, stacked it on the top of the large growing pile and glanced down at his watch. It was nearly 1830, he had promised to be home by 1900. If he wasn't, he would have a hungry, anxious Marine on his hands.

He packed up his things, grabbed his cover and a few files and headed out of the office, locking the door behind him. There were only a few people left in the office because he had sent most of them home a little early for the weekend.

"Have a good weekend, Jen," Harm said, moving to leave.

"You too, Commander. Uh, sir,...wait a moment," she said, getting up to stand in front of him.

"What? Have I forgotten something?"

"Sir, the Colonel called and ordered me not to let you bring any work home," Jen grinned, reaching out and taking the files from Harm's hand.

"Petty Officer, may I remind you that the Colonel is retired and is no longer your superior officer," Harm said sternly, a twinkle in his eye letting her know he was joking with her.

"Yes, sir, I am aware of that fact. I am also well aware of the fact that she is a Colonel and a Marine," Jen solemnly said.

"Are you afraid of Marines, Petty Officer?"

Jen shook her head. "Oh, no, sir. Just scared of one angry Marine Colonel."

Harm laughed out loud and Jen's face broke into a relieved grin. "Thank you, Jen. More importantly, I'm sure the Colonel will thank you for obeying that order."

"Good night, sir." She set the files down on her desk and watched as the tall Commander left the office. He had been like a father to her, taking her in and helping her out. He still paid for part of the rent on her apartment, something she was continually grateful for. She was glad to see him together with Mac, he was so much happier when he was with her. She had seen him down and troubled when Mattie started spending more and more time with her real father. She had seen how much it had hurt him when Mattie had decided that it would be time for her to give her father another chance. He had tried to put on this brave front but had only succeeded in acting well when Mattie was around. The minute Mattie was gone, a somber look would mask his face and his eyes would become empty and lost.

Now he had someone to help take away his pain and she was the only person in his life that could ever do that. They were perfect for each other, they had been for years. If only it hadn't taken them so long to figure things.

* * *


	11. Chapter 11: Loving You

AN: In my last chapter, some people said that they couldn't see Mac retiring from the military. One, we don't know how serious the illness is and two, don't you think if you were on the verge of dying, you would take a different look on life? Maybe reorganize your priorities a little? There's a reason for it, I promise, but maybe it was just time that she did it.

* * *

Chapter 11: Loving You

Harm arrived home, pizza in one hand, briefcase and his cover in the other. By doing some creative juggling, he managed to pull out his keys and open the door. He looked around for Mac as he made his way to the kitchen to set his stuff down. Signs of her were scattered all over his loft, now their loft. A wedding picture was set on a bookshelf, more pictures of just the two of them over the years surrounding it. She had a pair of running shoes by the door, her jacket hanging up on the rack above it, a blanket of hers on the couch. She had moved in to his apartment, his life, his mind, heart, and soul and he honestly couldn't remember how he ever lived and survived without her.

He glanced around one more time, still looking for his wife, not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping. He slowly, quietly made his way to his partially closed off bedroom and found Mac curled up on top of the bed, fast asleep. An open bottle of her pain medication was sitting on the nightstand. He sighed, knowing that she only took the pills when the pain was really bad. She was still a Marine, she often told him, and could handle a "little" pain. She had lied to him about it being a good day because he was stressed about Krennick. They both wanted so badly to protect each other from the pain that life caused them; they would both try to hide what pain they were going through.

Thinking of the pizza cooling down in the kitchen, he debated on whether or not to wake her. Deciding that it would be better to let her sleep than feed her now, Harm changed out of his uniform and into a pair of NAVY sweats and a white t-shirt. He lay down behind her, scooting close so that his chest was against her back and he wrapped an arm around her small waist. Enjoying the feeling of just simply being near Sarah Mackenzie, he found himself lost in her scent and her presence and joined his wife in dreamland.

Mac's growling stomach woke her a few hours later. She wasn't able to keep down her breakfast that morning and so hadn't eaten anything since. Now she was starving and needed to eat something to keep up her strength.

Mac began to move but found herself held tightly in the arms of one Harmon Rabb Jr. Her movement to pull away had caused him to subconsciously pull her even tighter. So instead of attempting again to get up, she turned in his hold to face him. He looked beautiful when he was sleeping. All the worries, all the stress in his life was gone; his face was completely void of any emotion but complete peacefulness and happiness.

Visually, she traced the features on his face. His dark short locks of hair down to his closed eyes, eyes that when open could look at her in such a way as if he could see deep into her soul; his sweet lips that could do things to her that made her shiver. She felt as if she could stare at him forever. Her gaze trailed down to his left hand and at the gold wedding band on his finger. It was a symbol of love, devotion, and marriage. It was a symbol of their love, just a symbol. The real thing was much more powerful. Her eyes made their way back up, as if memorizing his every feature, and then stopped at the sight of two expressive sea-green eyes gazing back at her.

She blushed at the intensity of his gaze but did not look away.

"Like what you see?" he asked gently, his voice teasing.

"Uh-huh," she said, nodding.

"Really?" His tone sounded almost self-conscious, not cocky like usual. It was as if he wasn't aware of how devastatingly handsome he truly was.

"Do you have any idea how handsome you are?"

"Vaguely, I might need to be reminded by my beautiful wife though," said Harm, reaching out to gently caress her face.

She nuzzled into his cupped hand, grateful for the strength his touch seemed to unknowingly provide her.

"Are you feeling better?" he tenderly asked.

As if on cue, her stomach grumbled, causing them both to break into a gentle easy laughter.

"Seriously, Sarah, why didn't you tell me that you weren't feeling well today?" He pulled his hand away from her cheek and reached down to take her hand in his, entwining their fingers together.

"Because I didn't want to worry you and I can handle-."

"I always worry about you," he interrupted. "And yes, I know you can handle it, you're a Marine, but you're also human and you're my wife. I love you and I worry about you."

Tears welled in her eyes. How did someone like her ever find someone like Harm?

She leaned in and gently brushed her lips against his cheek. Instead of pulling away, she snuggled in against his warm, strong body. "I'm fine now," she softly assured him. "But you won't be unless you feed me."

"Maybe I'd better feed you then," said Harm thoughtfully.

"Maybe," she mocked.

Minutes later, they were seated at the kitchen table. "Harriet wanted to know if we were going to have another wedding, at least in front of all of our friends. She said she'd be more than willing to help out with it, if we wanted," Harm told her, watching as Mac devoured her slices of pizza. One thing that hadn't changed over the past several years was Mac's ability to down any food set before her in a matter of seconds.

Mac didn't answer.

"What do you think?" he carefully asked.

"Do you want to?"

"I don't know."

Had she not been so tired, she would have become angry at his non-vague answer. He saw the frustrated look on her face and winced.

"Mac, I really don't know. Maybe we should, maybe we shouldn't. They are our friends, most of them have waited for years for us to get it together, they deserve to be at our wedding. But then again maybe what we had was just enough for us. It is us getting married, not them. It was just us, for once, and sometimes I don't mind it being just us. I liked what we did, it was perfect, but if you want more, then I'll fully support you," he rambled. During his ramblings, he had gotten up and was pacing around. Mac couldn't hold back a small smile; he was so cute when he was riled.

He stopped, pausing to catch his breath and she took the opportunity to rise from her chair, the pizza once again forgotten. She moved to stand before him, placing her hands on his broad, firm chest.

His arms immediately came up to wrap around her waist. He watched and waited as she played with the collar of his t-shirt.

"Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think?"

She finally looked up to meet his curious gaze.

"I think...that maybe...you look damn sexy in dress whites," Mac said flirtatiously.

"I thought you once told me that dress whites and gold wings have no effect on you."

"I lied," she bluntly admitted, continuing to play with his shirt.

"Good," he said, leaning down to kiss her. It was intended to be gentle, soft, and sweet but it took on a mind of its own when she kissed him back. Her kiss was needy and filled with urgency and he lost all sense of anything around him.

A need for oxygen forced them apart, both trying to regain control of their breathing.

"I guess that solves that question," Harm said. "I'm glad we worked that out."

"So am I," she agreed.

"Are you sure you want to go through with a big wedding?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm beginning to get a little bored around here; planning a wedding will give me something to do," decided Mac.

"I have only one request and then you can make the rest of the decisions about everything," he started.

"What?"

"Roses. We must have roses," Harm declared, leaning in to nuzzle his nose against hers.

"Definitely," she murmured, closing the distance between them to kiss her husband.


	12. Chapter 12: New Beginnings & Changes

AN: There's a reason that I haven't said exactly what Mac has and when I come up with it, I'll let you know. Somehow it was just easier to talk as little about it as possible, especially when we didn't know what exactly it was until this years season premier. Let's just say that it was life-threatening but has gone away since the surgery in chapter one.

Also, Harriet's not pregnant with twins and she didn't leave JAG.

* * *

Chapter 12: Krennick

JAG HQ

JAG OFFICE (temporarily Harm's)

Harm was at his desk working hard when a knock on the door interrupted his focus. Coates must not be at her desk, he thought as the person behind the bold, yet somewhat feminine knock swung the door wide open. Harm held back a groan as Admiral Allison Krennick stepped in through the doorway. It took all of his military training to get him to rise from his chair and stand at attention.

"At ease, Commander," Krennick drawled. "It's good to see you again and to be working over you."

In that one sentence, Harm knew that she hadn't changed over the years. To the casual listener, her voice was of a professional manner when in actuality it was dripping with innuendo and seductiveness. Just the way she walked towards his desk only confirmed his suspicious.

Jennifer Coates returned to her desk with her newly refilled cup of coffee just in time to see a NAVY woman, she couldn't see what rank, shut the door to Harm's office, shutting the rest of the world out. She briefly wondered what she should do but decided that unless one of the two said something, she wouldn't do anything.

Bud hurried up to Jen's desk, slightly out of breath.

"Was that Admiral Krennick?" he gasped.

"I'm not sure, Sir. I didn't see who it was exactly," answered Jen.

"Is Commander Rabb in there?"

"Yes, he is."

Bud groaned. There were whispers and hushed rumors floating around in the lower levels of the NAVY that involved Krennick and possible sexual harassment. He knew that she had once sought after Harm relentlessly and now Bud was worried that she might still be.

"Sir? Is something wrong?" Jen asked, worried at the look on Bud's face.

Bud sighed, unsure of what to do. Luckily, he didn't have to decide anything. The phone on Jen's desk rang and she reached forward to answer it.

"JAG Headquarters. Petty Officer Coates speaking."

"Jen, is Harm in?" Sarah Mackenzie's voice filled the line.

"Yes, he is, ma'am. Let me transfer you through, Colonel." Mac sighed; they still couldn't stop addressing her by her rank even now that she was retired.

Harm still stood before Allison.

"I've heard you've been doing a good job here, Harm, perhaps we could get together so that you can brief me on where to start," she suggested, the tone of her voice suggesting much more than what she was saying.

Harm opened his mouth to speak, to try to dissuade her attempts when the phone rang. He was about to answer it when Krennick reached forward and snatched it up.

"Admiral Krennick," she barked, her eyes not leaving Harm. He hadn't changed much over the past several years, except to become even better looking. He was still the NAVY's golden boy, despite all his adventures, and Allison Krennick was even more determined to have him.

"May I please speak to Commander Rabb?"

Allison frowned at the female voice, wondering who it was and feeling a little jealous.

"May I ask who is calling?"

Mac caught the undertone of jealousy in the Admiral's voice. "Sarah MacKenzie Rabb, his wife," she firmly informed.

Harm watched as the color drained from Krennick's face, then as she regained control of her emotions.

"I'm sorry, he's in a _very_ important meeting right now," Allison said briskly. So he was married. That presented a little more of a challenge. But still conquerable, nonetheless.

"Can you just let him know that I'll be by for lunch?" Mac said sweetly.

"I'll let him know."

"Thank you."

By now, Harm had some idea as to who was on the end of the other line and he could only hope that Mac would see right through it all.

Allison put the phone down, perhaps a bit stronger than she first intended.

"So the great Harmon Rabb is finally married," she said.

"Yes, ma'am." Harm refused to give her any details.

"Be seated, Commander," she ordered. "Why don't we go over some JAG business before the SECNAV comes here this afternoon to formally make me the JAG?"

For the next few hours, Harm briefly went over all the current case files with Krennick. Her behavior had taken on a more professional decorum as he familiarized her with the current JAG information.

By the time 0100 Local rolled around, Harm's stomach was growling loudly, its obvious call for food, but Krennick hadn't slowed down or offered to take a break. It looked like she planned on working right through his possible lunch hour.

"Sorry, ma'am," he apologized after one particularly loud grumble.

She couldn't have him losing his strength or fainting away in front of the SECNAV. "How about we break for lunch?" proposed Allison. "You can show me a good place to eat around here."

"I'm sorry, maybe another time, ma'am," Harm said, not at all sorry or remorseful. "I planned on meeting my wife for lunch."

Sarah Rabb had been waiting outside Harm's office for almost half an hour. Krennick had left strict instructions not to be disturbed otherwise Coates would have sent Mac in as soon as she had arrived.

Harm rose and gathered up some of his things, without getting permission to do so. He was pushing it and he knew it. "I'll move my things back to my office when I return, ma'am. I would have done it earlier had I known you were coming this morning." He came to attention, waiting to be dismissed.

"Dismissed, Commander," she said tonelessly, not moving from her chair.

She watched through the open door as Harm greeted a slender, dark-haired woman with a tender hug and a not-so-short kiss.

"Damn," Allison muttered. The woman obviously had a tight hold on Harm.

Mac saw the look on Harm's face as she left the office but didn't ask about it until they were seated at the restaurant. It was a silent drive to their favorite restaurant but it was a comfortable silence.

"So Krennick's the new JAG," she started.

"Not officially yet."

"Busy morning?" she asked, watching through concerned eyes as he yawned. He put his head in his hands, not looking up at her.

"You have no idea."

"Give me an idea. Enlighten me."

"She's back and worse than ever. She made me spend the whole morning going over all the current court cases and then we were in the middle of the budget lists when she finally let me go to lunch. And if that wasn't bad enough, she drops in her little innuendos and comments whenever she can. I don't know how long I'll take it if she continues like this," complained Harm.

"Is it all really that bad?" Mac asked. She was met with a glare. "Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry for taking this all out on you," apologized Harm. "What am I going to do?"

"I don't know. As much as I want to march in there right now and kick her ass, she hasn't really done anything against the rules yet. I mean, she has, but to anyone else, it's questionable."

They paused as the waiter arrived with their food. Salad and Fettuccini Alfredo for Harm and some chicken dish for Mac. She was cutting back on the thick juicy steaks and Beltway Burgers until she was more fully recovered from her surgery. They spent the next 45 minutes talking about nothing and everything. Conversations were no longer awkward for them and although they did still argue, their disagreements did not contain the same bitterness and hostility as before. As they left the restaurant, they had come to the conclusion that until they could get some substantial evidence on her sexual advances, he couldn't do much but be patient.

They were walking out of the restaurant, laughing about some funny story about something that had happened at JAG recently when Mac's cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh, hi, Harriet...Why?...But what for?...You're kidding me!...Of course, I'll be there...yes, I know he deserves it...I think it just might be what he needs right now, too...Okay...Bye."

Harm watched curiously as she finished her conversation and hung up, putting the phone back in her purse without saying anything to him.

"How's Harriet?" he asked.

"She's good."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's good."

"What does 'he' deserve? And who is 'he'?"

"Nothing, Harm. I can't tell you all my secrets," Mac teased. She couldn't help the big grin that spread across her face. This was a pretty big surprise coming to Harm and in her opinion, and in that of the fellow JAG officers, it was most definitely well-deserved.

"Mac," he whined, sounding very much like a little boy.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she said mysteriously.

Minutes later they were parking back in the JAG HQ parking lot. Harm just expected her to drop him off and head back home, so when she turned off the engine and jumped out to follow him, he was a little surprised.

"Coming in with me?" he asked.

"I just thought that I'd say hi to Harriet and a few others."

Harm and Mac entered the building and headed up to his office to drop off his things. He was so deep in thought that he didn't seem to notice the SECNAV, Admiral Krennick, and the rest of the office staff gathered around in the bullpen. Mac smiled at them all, winking conspiratorially before she followed Harm into his office.

"Uh...flyboy, you might want to step back out of your office," she suggested.

"Why?" He still didn't look up from his desk.

"Harmon Rabb, get out there now!" she all but commanded.

It was then that he looked up and out his open door, finding everyone staring at him intently with amused looks on their faces. With a look of guilt, he headed out.

"Commander Rabb, nice of you to join us," Admiral Krennick said.

"I'm sorry, sir, ma'am. Did I miss something?" he asked, moving to stand before the SECNAV and Krennick.

"Almost, Rabb. You got here just in time, _Captain_," the SECNAV said.

"Sir?" The look on Harm's face was almost comical.

"Colonel MacKenzie, I know that you're retired, but would you do the honors?"

Although not in uniform, Mac came to attention besides Harm and answered, "Yes, sir, I'd love to."

She turned to Harm, the proud grin barely noticeable on her face, and removed his Commander's insignia to replace it with the Captain's eagles.

"Congratulations, Captain," she softly whispered, rising up on tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek as was customary.

Harm could hardly believe it. After all that had happened recently, with leaving the NAVY and coming back, with all that was in his record, he never thought that he'd be promoted. To say that it was unexpected would have been an understatement.

Krennick watched as the rest of the JAG crew swarmed around Captain Rabb. "A lot like a family, huh, Admiral?" the SECNAV asked.

"Yes, sir," she agreed, almost regretfully.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13: Criminal Actions

AN: Thanks to JBird7986 for her correction of my NAVY insignia in the last chapter. I truly appreciate it. Also, if someone could tell me the name of the SECNAV, that would also be truly appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 13: Criminal Actions 

HARM & MAC'S APARTMENT

Harm sat on the couch, Mac snuggled up against him, thinking about his day. Becoming a Captain meant that he would get his own command somewhere else. But the SECNAV had taken him aside and privately told him that there wouldn't be a command position open for him for another couple months. Someone in Norfolk was retiring and it had been decided that Harm would be given that position when the other Captain did retire. Harm was just grateful that he and Mac would not have to move. (AN: I realize that this may not seem realistic, but let's just say that a) Krennick wants to keep him close to home (hers) and/or b) because of his current record, they want to keep Harm close so they can keep an eye on him)

"Did you know about my promotion?" asked Harm.

"I knew that AJ put you in for one before he retired. That's why Harriet called after lunch and told me to come to the office," explained Mac.

"But after everything that's happened...," he trailed off.

"You deserve it. Now stop complaining and questioning why," she gently commanded. She leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. He was so cute. When she first met him, she never would have guessed that underneath that cool, cocky, arrogant flyboy exterior lay a man who needed to be loved, needed, and assured of himself. It was good to know that heroes were human too. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind and she sat up suddenly.

"You okay?" he asked. She sat there, staring at him, her body almost frozen.

"You're a Captain."

"Yes...Sarah," he said slowly. "You were there when it happened, as I recall." He saw the fear in her eyes and grew worried.

"You'll get your own command."

Ahh, now he understood what was going through her mind. "Sarah, I talked to the SECNAV. We're not going to be moving anywhere."

"We're not?"

"No, as soon as Captain Rawlings at Norfolk retires, I'll be taking over his command."

Mac was relieved, to say the least. Moving was a regular part of military life, but she and Harm had been living there for so long. They had been living together for just a few months and she didn't want to move away from all her friends in the area; the Roberts, Jen, the Admiral, Turner, and especially Mattie.

They continued to talk late into the evening, sipping hot chocolate, before finally dragging themselves off to bed. Both fell into a deep sleep, holding onto one another.

* * *

HARM & MAC'S APARTMENT 

0322 LOCAL

Mac found herself being pulled to the surface of consciousness by the incessant ringing of the phone. She reached over to pick up the phone, causing Harm to mumble something when she moved.

"Hello?" she answered, trying to hold back a yawn as she wondered who would be calling them this early in the morning. She could only hope that it was a wrong number.

"Mac?" the trembling, scared voice of a normally strong and defiant, confident teenager filled the silence.

Mac sat up straighter, suddenly wide awake. "Mattie? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Instead of an answer, she heard sniffling from Mattie. "Mattie? Do you need to talk to Harm?" Maybe she would be more comfortable talking to Harm about whatever was bothering her.

"He came home late...said he was out looking for jobs...he was drunk, Mac," Mattie cried.

Mac drew a sharp breath. They had all had such high hopes when Mattie had moved back in with her dad. As a recovering alcoholic, Mac, too, knew how hard it was to stay away from the alcohol when times were tough and life was low. But before she could say or ask anything, Mattie continued on.

"When I asked him if he had been drinking, he became angry...he started screaming at me...then he started throwing anything he could get his hands on..." Mattie paused to take a deep breath.

"Did he hurt you?" Mac asked sharply.

"Mac, he threw my mother's favorite vase at me..."

Mac turned over and shook her husband awake. She mouthed to him that Mattie was in trouble and that she was hurt. She then pointed at the car keys lying on his dresser. Harm nodded in understanding and hurriedly got dressed while Mac listened to Mattie.

"He threw anything he could at me...I couldn't get away...he knocked me against the kitchen counter...Mac, I'm so scared."

"Where is he now?"

"He passed out and I dragged him down to the basement and locked him in there."

"Mattie, Harm's on his way to get you, okay?" Mac watched as Harm grabbed the keys to the SUV and his wallet and raced out of the apartment.

"Don't hang up on me, please?" begged Mattie.

Mac's heart was only hurt more by this simple plea. She had never heard Mattie sound so insecure, so helpless, so needy.

"I won't, honey, I'll stay here until Harm shows up," promised Mac.

Mac kept Mattie talking for 20 minutes, trying to get her mind off of the matter at hand. Finally, Mattie heard a car pulling up outside.

"Mac, thanks. Harm just pulled up."

Harm had raced through the streets, pushing the speed limit to get to Blacksburg. He only had a slight idea about what had happened and his worry and fear for Mattie was what was driving him at this early hour.

He pulled up in the large driveway, barely putting the car in park and yanking his keys out before jumping out and heading for the front door. Mattie opened it just as he stepped onto the porch. It took just one look to see the tears running down her face before Harm was pulling her into a warm and comforting hug.

They stood like that for several minutes, Mattie drawing strength and security from the man who had once been her simple guardian, but who was now, so much more.

"Come on, let's take you home," he said softly. They silently gathered up some of her things before heading out to his car.

Mac was up, pacing the apartment, waiting for Harm to return with Mattie. When they finally did arrive, Mac threw the door open, having heard the elevator creaking, and immediately pulled Mattie into a hug, no words spoken, but none needing to be. When they finally pulled apart, Mac took a good look at Mattie and couldn't help but gasp. There was a large bruise forming on her left cheek, running right up to her eye. There was another bruise about the same size on her right forearm, a scratch on her forehead where fresh blood was still apparent. Her green eyes were red and puffy from crying and Mac recognized the look of a broken-down, lost, and defeated young girl in those eyes. If she was guessing correctly, Mattie was blaming herself for not only getting hit but also for her father getting drunk.

"Why don't we go get you cleaned up?" Mac's tone was nothing but loving and motherly, as she put her arm around Mattie's shoulders.

As Mac led Mattie off to the bathroom to clean up her scratches, Harm pulled in the rest of her stuff from the car. He then worked on making the bed on the pull-out couch before joining them in the bathroom. He stood in the doorway, watching as Mac gently cleaned the blood off and put band-aids on the smaller wounds, bandages on the larger ones.

Harm's worry was slightly dwindling now that Mattie was safe with him and it was becoming replaced with anger and rage for the man who dared lay a finger on his little girl. He hadn't stopped thinking of Mattie as his little girl. He wanted to go beat the hell out of Tom Johnson; the only thing holding him back was his need to make sure that Mattie was truly okay.

Harm wasn't the only one feeling like this; Mac was about ready to go into full "Marine mode" on Tom, too. How dare he do this to his daughter? He had taken her back in, telling and convincing them all that he was doing better. He had just barely regained the trust of his daughter and in one night, had shattered it again. This time, it would not be so easily put back together, if ever at all.

"Mattie?" Harm finally spoke.

"Yeah?"

"What do you want to do about your father? We need to report him for abuse, if you want to."

"Harm," Mattie started. "Let's do what you think we need to do. I gave him his second chance and he just lost it."

* * *

JAG HQ 

1242 LOCAL

Harm yawned once again as he walked in the bullpen and headed to his office. He had no court sessions that week, just doing paperwork and starting a few new cases.

Last night, following Mattie's wishes, he had called the cops to report what had happened. They had sent some cops to go and free Tom Johnson from his basement and arrest him while a couple other officers had come over to talk to Mattie, Harm, and Mac.

It had been a late night and Harm had called in to the office, explaining to Jen the barest of details and telling her that he would be in at lunch. Mattie was still sleeping when he left. She was emotionally and physically exhausted and he and Mac had decided that she wouldn't have to go to school for a few days. Or at least, until this whole thing settled down.

A petty officer hurried up to the Captain, interrupting his thoughts and worries.

"Captain, the Admiral needs to see you in her office ASAP," the young man informed him nervously.

"Thank you, Petty Officer." Harm set down his things, straightened his uniform, and headed off to Krennick's office. He glanced at Coates' desk but it was empty. That's weird, he thought.

He knocked on the big wooden door, waited for permission to enter and when it came, he walked in, coming to attention before Krennick's desk.

"Captain Rabb, nice of you to finally join us," Krennick greeted, a sly grin on her face.

"Sorry, ma'am, I had to deal with some personal issues early this morning," Harm tried to explain, not wanting to tell her the whole story. Had it been AJ, he would have. But then again, AJ had a vested interest in the "young Miss Grace's" life, thinking of her almost as a granddaughter.

"Personal?" queried Allison. "Why didn't you call in and let us know?"

"I did, ma'am."

"There was no such message received, Captain. I'm rather inclined to believe that you were just skipping work." There was an unspoken challenge in her words, one that he dared not rise to.

"I'm sorry I'm late, ma'am," was all he could, and would, say.

"Captain, I'll forgive you this time, but be warned, I will be watching you carefully. This better not happen again." Her words were a loaded statement and both recognized that.

"Dismissed, _Harm_."

Harm almost frowned at her, but instead turned on his heel and headed out of the office. He honestly couldn't wait until he got his own command at Norfolk, if nothing else he would be free of Krennick.

He worked hard at his desk all afternoon and partially into the evening. Mac knew that he would need to stay late to finish up the work that he should have done that morning. She was actually glad, it would give her more time to talk to Mattie. Harm grinned at the thought, if he knew either of them at all, Mattie would be helping to plan their wedding the second she found out about it.

Harm looked down at the pile of files in front of him and sighed. It was slowly diminishing but not fast enough. He grabbed the next folder in the pile, a rather thick one, and began to read through the final report so he could sign off on it. Next thing he knew, there was someone in a white naval skirt sitting on the edge of his desk. He looked up to find Allison Krennick sitting there, arms folded across her chest, a smirk on her face. He supposed that she would call her pose seductive but to him, it was a major turn-off. He was married and she was still trying to get in his pants.

"Still working, Captain? Isn't it a little late? Don't you have a wife to go home to?"

"Just trying to finish some paperwork, ma'am," he said, gritting his teeth. The rest of the office had gone home and he had thought that he was the only one left. He should have just taken his work with him. Then he wouldn't be in this situation. "And yes, my wife is waiting at home for me."

"That's too bad that she's at home and you're stuck here with me," Allison said, reaching out to run a finger down his arm.

At her first touch, he pulled away and jumped out of his chair. "Admiral, I don't know what you are doing, but I can assure you that I am a happily married man."

"And I wasn't suggesting otherwise, Harm," she said, getting off the desk to move closer to him. There was no one in the office and if he reported something, it would be his word against hers. She would have Harmon Rabb Jr. and there was no longer any question about it.

* * *

AN: What will Krennick do? How far will she go? How far will Harm let her go? What's happening to Mattie? AHHH, so much drama. (yes, I'm running a little low on sleep and high on energy) 

The next chapter is already done, and I must say that it is pretty long. Depending on how well this one is received will determine when I post it. (College, homework, friends, and life in general also play a factor!) Reviews welcomed and loved, but not necessarily needed!

* * *


	14. Chapter 14: Overwhelming Stress Expensiv...

AN: I loved the numerous reviews and the wonderful feedback, but would like to say a few things. One, Harm is too honorable to "shove" her against the wall, sorry to those of you who wanted that. Secondly, another apology to everyone, especially the starving hdrexel, because I said I would post the next chapter sooner. It turned out to end at a good point, but I felt it was too short so I decided that I would write another long one to post with it. Hopefully, the two chapters will make up for the delay. (It's kind of two chapters, more of an addition to the last one and a chapter 14)

* * *

_FROM PREVIOUS CHAPTER:_

"_Still working, Captain? Isn't it a little late? Don't you have a wife to go home to?"_

_"Just trying to finish some paperwork, ma'am," he said, gritting his teeth. The rest of the office had gone home and he had thought that he was the only one left. He should have just taken his work with him. Then he wouldn't be in this situation. "And yes, my wife is waiting at home for me."_

_"That's too bad that she's at home and you're stuck here with me," Allison said, reaching out to run a finger down his arm._

_At her first touch, he pulled away and jumped out of his chair. "Admiral, I don't know what you are doing, but I can assure you that I am a happily married man."_

_"And I wasn't suggesting otherwise, Harm," she said, getting off the desk to move closer to him. There was no one in the office and if he reported something, it would be his word against hers. She would have Harmon Rabb Jr. and there was no longer any question about it._

"Ma'am, I'm finished up here, and so if you don't need anything, I'll be heading home." Harm was regretting the words as soon as they flew out of his mouth. He really had to start thinking before speaking. He knew she would take his words to mean something else and that she would twist their meaning around completely.

He moved back to his desk, hurriedly gathering up files and stuffing them in to his briefcase half-hazardly. She moved to stand directly behind him.

"It's too bad, Harm, we could have had something years ago. Maybe we still could," she said alluringly.

He had just about had the last straw when she reached out to place a caressing hand on his lower back. That broke his control. He jerked away from her, out of her reach and snapped, "Will you stop it? You are way out of line, Allison. I have had enough of this harassment from you and I will-."

Her icy blue eyes narrowed and a threatening look crossed her face. "I will get you, Rabb, make no doubt about that. One way or another, you will get what's coming to you," she threatened before turning to storm out of his office.

Not wanting to spend another minute there, Harm quickly gathered his things and bolted from his office. He nearly ran all the way to his car before he finally settled down in the front seat, doors locked. He took several deep breaths, trying to calm down. He knew what he had to do, but unfortunately he hated to go about the task of doing it. After finally gaining control of his senses and surroundings, he put the keys in the ignition and began the drive home.

Allison Krennick was fuming. That little act could ruin her career, if he ever pressed charges. Even if she was proven innocent, there would still be that mark on her record. She couldn't have that. And she didn't dare just sit around and pretend like nothing had happened. No, there had to be a better idea. Maybe...just maybe...nah, that would never work. She could transfer him, transfer him to some little place in the middle of nowhere, far away from JAG HQ. No, she couldn't do that, he was all set up to receive the command over at Norfolk. There must be another solution, she thought.

She stared out one of the large windows of her office, watching as Harmon Rabb got in his SUV and drove off. Now only her red Mustang was left in the parking lot, plus a few government cars. He may be married, he may be under her chain of command, but that did not mean that he was off-limits to her.

Then all of the sudden, it came to her. Instead of giving him the chance to charge her with sexual harassment, she would charge him.

"Yes," she mused out loud. "Charge him with sexual harassment, make it sound like he's been the one chasing after me. We'll add on dereliction of duty for being late with several reports and not showing up that one morning. It'll ruin his career. It's perfect."

She finished gathering up her stuff and headed out to her car, the plan all coming together in her mind.

A pair of brown eyes had watched the whole scene play out between the Captain and the Admiral. That same person had also heard Allison's plan through the open office door. This person had packed up and left, almost out of the JAG parking lot when she realized that she had left her coat behind. In the process of retrieving it, she had witnessed everything. Her information could throw Allison's whole case, should she actually prove to go that far. But if Jennifer Coates knew one thing about the new Admiral, she knew that she would do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

* * *

Chapter 14: Overwhelming Stress

Harm arrived home, weary and exhausted, to the wonderful sound of his two girls giggling. He opened up the door and found them sitting on the couch, looking at bridal magazines.

"Hey, I'm home," he said, putting on a mask to hide his stress and pain from them. He still needed to deal with the incident involving Mattie's father.

But through their giggling, they didn't seem to hear him. They were too involved in looking at the hideous wedding dresses in the magazine. Mac wanted something flowing, elegant, and beautiful, not some slutty dress.

He quietly set down his briefcase and cover and snuck up behind them. His plan was to scare him, until he glanced down at the open page of the magazine. Mac and Mattie had stopped giggling and were staring at the picture in silent awe.

"It's perfect," she breathed. And indeed it was.

"But look at the price," Mattie pointed out.

"That doesn't matter," Harm spoke up, causing both girls to jump in surprise.

"Yeah, it does. I can't afford this dress. I can find another one just as beautiful for a much cheaper price," said Mac.

"Mac...Sarah, would you be happy with any other dress?" he asked, his eyes gazing at her intently.

Under such an intense look, she couldn't lie to him. "No."

"Fine, then it's settled. We'll buy that dress," he announced, much to Mac's delight and Mattie's glee. He was determined to give Mac the grand wedding she wanted, no matter the cost. He had already talked to his mom and Frank about it. It was tough to swallow his pride to ask for the money but they insisted because he was their only son.

Mac leaned up and pulled Harm's face closer to hers, kissing him. When she pulled back, she whispered, "Thank you."

"You deserve the perfect wedding and that means that you'll get the perfect dress," he told her lovingly.

Mattie had gotten up when they leaned in to kiss, heading for the kitchen to get a bottle of water. She didn't mind having them kiss, it was just that they often got carried away when they did. It was awfully cute though, she thought. She wished that she could be half as in love with someone as Mac and Harm were with each other.

"So where's the wedding going to be?" she called out, walking back to them.

"Naval Academy Chapel," was Mac's immediate answer.

Harm just gaped at her. He had assumed that they would chose a location closer to home. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Do you know how hard it is to find an open date for there? Not to mention, getting all of our guests there."

"It takes at least a year to get a reservation. And I have to tell you, Mac, that I'm not waiting a year to get married to you. Again."

"Well, we might just be able to get in there in a couple months," she admitted.

"How?"

"I was talking to AJ and I briefly mentioned that that's where we wanted to get married and he said that he'd look into it for us," she told him.

"Are you sure that's where you want it?" he asked, repeating his earlier question.

"Yeah, I think it would be perfect. It's either that or a courtroom at JAG," she joked.

They continued to talk about the wedding plans all the way through dinner, Harm having nearly completely forgotten about the incident with Krennick after work. It wasn't until Harm and Mac were getting into bed that his day at work was mentioned.

"So anything happen with Tom Johnson?" Harm asked, pulling back his side of the sheets to climb into bed.

"Yeah, he's been arrested and being charged with assault, at least for starters. He's sitting in jail right now."

"How's Mattie doing with this whole thing?"

"She's okay. It helped having you there to pick her up this morning. She said that she wants to take him to court on this, though." Mac changed into her pajamas: a pair of Harm's boxer shorts and one of his large NAVY t-shirts.

"That might be interesting."

"Yeah, it would. So how was your day at work?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Good," he lied, not wanting to burden her with his problems and not realizing that she would only want to help him.

She took note of his short answer, something that was uncharacteristic for him when talking about work. "That's good. Just a typical boring day, then?"

"Yeah," he said, swallowing hard.

"Uh-huh," she said disbelievingly. She scooted over towards his side and snuggled up close against him. "You want to tell me what happened?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Harmon, I know you better than that. It's me, your wife, talk to me," she gently commanded.

"Krennick's back."

She was puzzled. "I know."

"And worse than ever. I was just trying to finish up some paperwork before I came home when she trapped me in my office. Everyone else had gone home, something that I hadn't noticed, and it was just the two of us," he began.

"Go on," she instructed, not moving her head from its place on his broad chest.

"She suggested that we could've had something years ago and that maybe we still could. She kept following me and touching me," he told her, shuddering at the memory.

Mac trusted Harm completely to do the right thing. He had never broken a promise and he would not start by breaking his marriage vows. Plus, he disliked Krennick with a passion. None of the officers under her command could understand how she had promoted to Admiral with her level of style and professionalism. So she waited patiently and listened to his story.

"I told her to back off and she told me that she was going to get me one way or another. She then stormed out of my office and I left."

"I'm sorry," Mac whispered.

"It's not your fault, honey," he said, placing a small kiss on her forehead.

"I know, but I'm sorry that she's bothering you."

"That's not all. She didn't get my message that I was coming in late this morning. She said that she'd forgive me this time but that she would be 'watching me carefully'. Hah, like she's already not," he said sarcastically.

Mac was silent for a moment, thinking hard. Finally she spoke her thoughts. "Can we charge her with anything? I mean, do we have solid evidence that she's been harassing you?"

"No one was around to see what happened tonight. And she does most of the stuff when there is really no one around. It would be her word against mine, unfortunately. And with her being the superior officer, the court would be more inclined to believe her than me."

"So we're stuck."

"Pretty much." He let out a low groan of frustration.

"You hate this, don't you? Not being able to do anything to stop her behavior, not being fully in control," she asked.

"I hate all these situations. I hate the fact that I wasn't there to protect Mattie when she needed it most. I hate it that I can't stop Krennick's behavior. I hate it that I can't protect you from the cancer, that I might lose the love my life because of some incurable disease that I can't stop. I hate being scared, that feeling of being afraid. Up in the air, a pilot's always in control. I can control my direction, my speed, I've been trained on how to react to nearly everything thrown my way. Down here, there are no rules to follow, no guidelines set down. Anything and everything can and nearly has been thrown my way and I don't know how to fix it. In the air, I can fight, retreat, attack, defend, or eject. There is always a way out of the situation. Here, I'm lost," he confessed.

"Down here, it's the same way, Harm," she told him. "You may not always be in control, but the reactions are still the same. It doesn't matter what happens, just how you decide to go about reacting to it. None of us are fully in control but that's okay. We don't have to be."

He hugged his wife tightly to him, mindful of her scars from the surgeries, eternally grateful that he had such a strength in his life.

"Come on, Harm, let's go to sleep. We'll deal with everything tomorrow," she instructed.

"I love you, Sarah," he murmured, pressing his lips against her soft hair in a gentle kiss before settling down in bed. They held each other throughout the night, relishing in the power of their love.

* * *

JAG HQ

STAFF MEETING

0936 LOCAL

"Captain Rabb, you will be receiving no cases," Allison Krennick repeated.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" He was in disbelief. "May I ask why?"

"Yes. Captain Rabb, you will be under investigation with the charges of dereliction of duty, disrespecting towards a Superior Officer, and sexual harassment," she announced.

Harriet gasped, then immediately shut her mouth. She wasn't the only one who was stunned. Harm fought the urge to scream at the woman and sat up straight in his chair.

"May I ask who is pressing the charges?" He already had a pretty good idea of who was.

"Yes, I am. You will be finishing up paperwork in your office until further notice. You have leave for today only though. You are dismissed, Captain," she finished.

He wouldn't lose control. He wouldn't lose control. He couldn't lose control. He waited until he had gathered up his things from the meeting, and from his office, and was sitting in his car to take a moment to think about things. It would be his word against Krennick's and he was sure that whoever she found to investigate would assume him guilty.

The rest of the staff was stunned and left speechless. How dare she accuse one of their own? They were all fuming as they separated to their own offices. By an unspoken agreement, they all met out in the courtyard for lunch.

They spent the next 35 minutes discussing the the ridiculousness of Harm's charges, the possibility of who would investigate, and what the outcome might be. None of them dared to comment about Krennick personally, not while they were so close to the office. By the end of the day, their fury and anger had only grown. Harmon Rabb Jr. was one of their own, like a big brother to so many. They had all seen the way Krennick had "chased" after him and how he was constantly refusing her and avoiding her. They were dangerously walking the line of mutiny, but in their eyes Krennick had already crossed over another forbidden line.

Jen hadn't brought up seeing Allison coming on to Harm in his office the day before, she was going to tell him what she saw before she would tell the others. If this thing went to trial, they knew they would all be witnesses, Jen more important than the others. She saw how the Admiral summoned Harm more to her office than any of the other officers, combined. She had seen how Krennick treated Harm differently than she treated Bud or Sturgis. Bud knew rumors of other incidents involving Krennick and he made a silent promise to himself to find out more details. They all silently vowed to find any way they could to help Harm out and defend him. They would not let her do this.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15: New Preparations

Chapter 15: Preparations

Harm arrived home to an empty house. He went into panicked, over-worried mode for a minutes until he remembered Mac saying something the night before about taking Mattie shopping for the day. He pondered briefly the idea of getting drunk to drown his sorrows but quickly dismissed when he thought of what Mac's reaction would be. Or Mattie's for that matter. He dumped his stuff down and fell on the couch in a tired, stressed out heap.

Over the next ten minutes his thought process went like this:

Krennick. Charges. Sexual Harassment. Possible Ruined Career.

Mattie. Tom Johnson. Drunk and Abusive. Possible Adoption of Mattie.

Mac. Wedding. Wedding Plans. Possible Postponement (AN: because of investigation and thing with Mattie, he doesn't want to back out, I promise.)

The sudden sound of the door to their apartment opening interrupted his deep thoughts. Mac and Mattie walked in, searching for Harm. After the meeting, Sturgis had called Mac on her cell and told her everything; about the charges from Krennick, Harm's reaction, or lack thereof, and how he (Turner) was worried that Harm might not be fully in control of his emotions. They both knew the danger of Harm's actions being run by his emotions. When Mac had heard the news, she had immediately turned the car around and headed back home.

Mattie, too, was worried. She knew that she would not be living with her biological father anymore and she secretly wanted, well, hoped, that Harm and Mac might adopt her. But if he was being charged with all those things, the civil judge might not let them. They had barely let him become her guardian last time because he was a single, 40 year-old NAVY man.

Mac watched as Mattie shrugged off her coat and hung it up; then as the maturing teen headed to the leather couch. Harm had sat up when the door opened. Mattie silently came over to stand in front of him and moved in to hug him.

Harm was slightly caught off guard by this open display of love and emotion coming from the girl who had once slammed a door in his face. He held her tightly, grateful for the opportunity he had had to take her in and become her guardian and even more thankful for the influence she had been in his life.

"I'm sorry, Harm," she whispered.

"Thanks, honey," he whispered back. Looking over the top of Mattie's head, he looked at Mac. Her brown eyes were full of emotion: love, devotion, tenderness, apprehension for the weeks to come, so many things. And yet there was hope, hope for the future and the general desire that everything would work out for the best.

She came to join the duo on the couch, sitting next to Harm, who was still holding Mattie. "We'll get through this," she promised him. "All of this."

They spent the day planning the wedding details. It was Mattie and Mac's intent to take Harm's mind off of work for a day and they managed to do it. They picked up Chinese take-out and had a fun family dinner. But that night, Harm lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Mac lay asleep next to him, her arm thrown over his stomach, her head resting on his chest. He rubbed his eyes wearily and then looked down at the sleeping angel in bed with him. She was beautiful. She was strong, determined, independent, loving, caring, and best of all, she was his wife. She had been through so much but you couldn't tell by looking at her. Her sickness was gone for the time being, something they were both grateful for. She had been his strength over the last several weeks, hell, she been his strength over the past 10 or so years. Every time he thought about giving up, there she was in his mind, encouraging him to go on.

He had to be strong for her. She already had so much to deal with. Harm was determined to go through this whole ordeal with his head held high, to do any less would be unacceptable. He would prove himself innocent. There was no way that he would let Krennick ruin his career for things he did not do.

With this decision made, Harm fell asleep minutes later.

* * *

JAG HQ

0854

THE NEXT MORNING

Harm trudged into the office, feeling only slightly more uplifted and encouraged than he had when he left the day before. He had barely settled down inn his office when there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," he called out.

"Captain Rabb?" a strong, male voice asked.

Harm looked up to find a tall, dark-haired, hazel-eyed Lieutenant Commander standing in the doorway.

"Yes?"

"Lt. Commander Nick Parkinson, sir. I'm here to investigate the charges from Alli-Admiral Krennick," explained Nick.

Harm caught the near slip of Krennick's first name but dismissed it.

"Do you have time to answer a few question, sir?"

"Of course, sit down, Commander," Harm said, setting down his pen and gesturing to the empty set of chairs placed in front of his desk.

For the next few hours, Parkinson asked a variety of questions, not all necessarily related to the charges. He never really gave Harm a chance to fully answer, and if he did, then he acted like he didn't really understand. His questions came off as biased and as if he had already made his decision in the matter.

"Sir, is it true that a Petty Officer Coates lives just down the hall from you?"

"Yes, she stayed with my ward."

"Your ward?"

"Yes, I am, or was, guardian for a 15 year-old girl," Harm said proudly, yet warily.

"Hmm...but you are no longer guardian for that girl?"

"No, she returned to live with her father." He didn't feel the need to explain the whole situation about what had occurred over the past several days.

"You pay half the rent for Petty Officer Coates' apartment, still?"

Harm was growing tired of these questions. They had nothing to do with what had happened between him and Krennick. "Commander, just what are you trying to get at?"

"Nothing, sir. Just trying to examine all the facts."

"Then I suggest, Commander, that you stick to the facts of the charges, not to those of my personal life."

"Yes, sir. I believe that I am finished now, sir." Parkinson's tone was borderline insolent.

"Dismissed, Commander," Harm said.

Parkinson stood up from his chair and left Harm's office, heading straight towards Krennicks'.

Days later, Harm hadn't heard anything about what was happening with the investigation. Parkinson had interviewed several people in the office and was generally annoying the hell out of them with his biased questions. Much of the information that he asked for had little to no relevance to the charges, it seemed like Parkinson was trying to find out all about Harm's personal life and the women in it more so than of what had actually taken place in the office. Yes, he was supposed to find out the characteristics and behavior, but only to an extent. Many thought that Parkinson was digging way too deep into the personal matters of Captain Rabb.

Finally at one staff meeting, it all came together.

"Commander Turner, how is your current case load?" Admiral Krennick asked.

"Clear and open, Admiral," he promptly answered, glancing across the table at Harm. Krennick had distributed many cases this morning, many to Bud, some to Sturgis, but none to Harm. Harm had been sitting there, near the end of the table, sullen yet slightly confident.

"Good, because I have one last important case that I need you to take." She handed him a somewhat thin file.

He took it and opened it, nearly dropping it on the table when he saw the title.

Krennick, US NAVY v. Harmon Rabb, Jr.

The listed charges were sexual harassment, fraternization, disrespect toward a superior officer, dereliction of duty, and finally, conduct unbecoming.

Turner looked at Harm, then up at Krennick. She was really heaping it all on him.

"Is something wrong, Commander?" she asked innocently.

"Will I be defending, ma'am?"

"No, you will be prosecuting."

Turner's face was impassive as he received this bit of news. "Then I respectfully request that I be removed from the case."

"On what grounds?"

"That Captain Rabb is one of my closest friends and –"he tried to continue but she cut him off. It was her intent to make Harm's life a living hell and one way to do that was by having a close friend be the one to prosecute him.

"Request denied, Commander. You will be prosecuting. Captain Rabb has chosen to find his own lawyer." This was one tiny little detail upon which Allison was scared about. When he had officially been charged, she had assigned him a defense lawyer, but he had refused. She had chosen some mediocre lawyer out of California to defend him and he had said that he had already found his own lawyer. He hadn't told her who, though. But he had already found one.

And indeed, he had. In fact, he had found two lawyers. They were, the best of the best that he could ever hope to get.

Mac had already agreed to it and despite Harm's many protests, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

When Harm had found out all that he was being charged with, only the afternoon before, it had taken him only a few minutes to decide who his lawyer would be. On the way home, he had stopped by AJ Chegwidden's house in McLean, VA and they had talked over drinks. When Harm told AJ what was happening and what he was being charged with, AJ had immediately volunteered his services. Harm told him that that was what he was hoping for and that he would be eternally grateful if the former Admiral could help him. They decided to meet the next day for lunch and then head to Harm's office to work on his defense. Mac would help when she could. She was also busy planning the wedding and dealing with the issues between Mattie and Tom.

AJ had readily agreed to defend the man who had become like a son to him. If he had known that a person like Allison Krennick would be following in his shoes, he never would have retired, he told Harm.

So between his former commanding officer and his wife, Harm had one of the best defense teams that he could ever hope to have.

Turner knew that AJ and Mac would be defending Harm and he knew that with the lack of evidence on the part of the prosecution and with going up against the former Judge Advocate General, he would lose, something he didn't mind in this case. He was just worried that one, he was too close to Harm and that may be misconstrued as biased and that he would not be fulfilling his job to the best of his duties, and two, that whatever may happen during the trial would strain things between him and the rest of the office.

"Ma'am," he began.

"Commander Turner! Is there a problem?" she snapped.

"No, ma'am."

"Good, then this meeting is over. You are all dismissed except for the captain."

Sturgis and Bud both shot Harm warning looks at her statement but both reluctantly left with the others.

"Yes, ma'am?" Harm asked, standing at the end of the table, as far away from Krennick as he dared stand.

"I've decided to give you one last chance, Harm. I'll drop the charges and we can settle this, non-judicially, if you like," she sweetly told him.

"Admiral, I have warned you time and time again. I have refused to do anything of the sort with you, and I will continue to refuse. You told me that I would get what was coming to me, and you know what, Allison? I'm going to win this, we're going to prove that I'm innocent and we're going to expose you for the witch that you really are," Harm told her, his tone of voice nearly threatening and powerful. Without waiting for her permission, he left the room, almost slamming the large, heavy door behind him.

He headed to his office, his pace brisk and purposeful, and shut himself in there to work steadily until lunchtime.

* * *

AJ Chegwidden stood outside the building that housed the central JAG operations. It had been a few months since he had entered in and truth be told, he missed it. He missed the hustle and bustle that was JAG, he missed the courtroom, he missed the antics of his staff. The staff who had become like family to him. He was grateful to have at least one last battle in the courtroom. The guards had recognized him almost immediately, his civilian clothes throwing them off just a tad. He had been allowed to pass through the gate and it felt strange to be branded with a visitor's badge.

He stepped inside nostalgically remembering other days and headed for the elevator. He rode alone and in silence up the few floors and when the elevator doors opened, he was greeted with the sight of busy JAG ops. Officers were hard at work, working to uphold the military law. It was very picturesque. Luckily, he was able to sneak unnoticed over to Harm's office. The last thing he wanted to do was to make scene and disrupt everyone.

"Harm?" he called out, shutting the office door shut behind him.

"Sir," Harm started, beginning to rise to attention. Old habits certainly died hard.

"Harm, sit. It's AJ, remember?"

"Sorry, AJ," apologized Harm, settling back down in his chair.

"I brought lunch for us," AJ informed him, holding out a large bag of take-out food from a nearby Italian restaurant. "Since we don't have much time before court starts, I thought we'd just jump right in."

They spent the next five and a half hours going over the facts. Harm told AJ everything; from when Allison had first approached him so many years ago up until the incident at the staff meeting that morning. AJ was furious when he found out that Allison's behavior had started so many years ago and he was even more infuriated when he found out some of the things she had done.

"Why didn't you come to me and report her years ago?" AJ asked.

"Because I ... I guess, I thought I could handle it," Harm tried to explain. Back then, it hadn't seemed like such a big deal. He had felt a little flattered by her attention and he thought that he could handle it all. There was never really any hard evidence, just innuendos and little signs of flirtation here and there. It was nothing like now where she was touching him and blatantly propositioning him.

"If we bring all this up, they're going to go after you for not reporting it. They'll try to make it look like it was you instead and that you tried to do something. She was the one transferred out and they'll try to connect the two and say that she transferred because of you."

"I know."

Finally, they decided that it was time to stop for the day. AJ was once again, going to attempt to leave before anyone noticed him but someone came into Harm's office just as he was about to leave.

"Captain, Sir," Jen greeted warmly. "It's good to see you, Admiral."

"You too, Jen. But it's AJ now."

"Sorry, sir. Old habits die hard. Um...I had heard that you were going to be Harm's counsel and I was wondering if ...if you two had a minute," she said, feeling slightly flustered.

"Jen, is something wrong?" Harm asked, slipping into a protective, fatherly mode.

"I saw what Admiral Krennick did to you, sir. In your office, when you both thought everyone was gone. I saw her touching you and following you around. I heard everything she said to you," Jen told them.

"But how? The office was empty that night." Harm was confused.

"I had left but forgotten something here. When I came to get it, I saw her going into your office and heard her ask you why you were still working. I saw her touch you, sir."

AJ's plans of leaving at that moment were forgotten. He sat back down and gestured for Jen to sit in the other chair and they spent the next half hour going over her story and version of what had happened. Krennick had not been seen all afternoon and neither had Commander Parkinson. Rumor had it that he was going to be assisting Turner on the prosecution.

Finally, at 0700 LOCAL, they sent Jen home for the day and spent a few minutes finishing up.

"Who's the prosecutor going to be?" AJ asked.

Harm was slow to answer. "Sturgis."

"Are you serious?" exclaimed AJ.

"Yeah, he tried to get out of it but Krennick wouldn't let him. I don't know what she's trying to do by pulling this one."

* * *

Over the next several days, AJ, with the help of Mac, pulled Harm's defense strategy together. When they had interviewed Bud as a potential witness, he had told them about the rumors of others under Allison's command also being sexually harassed by her, and in some cases, they had actually succumbed to her. Rumors of Harm's case were flying all over the NAVY and many were willing to step up and help him. AJ managed to track down Meg Austin to see if she could provide any help or evidence in their defense. She was more than willing to help them out and they managed to get a flight for her from her home in Texas out to Washington D.C. AJ and Bud also managed to find a few more witnesses that had once been under Allison's command.

It was all coming together rather quickly and AJ felt good about his case. Things were only a little tense between Sturgis and everyone else. They all recognized that he was doing his duty and it wasn't out of what he really wanted. In actuality, Sturgis was even more frustrated because of his co-counsel. They were just not getting along at all, clashing horribly in what decisions to make, what ways to go about presenting their facts, and so much more. Sturgis' patience was being tried, like it never had been before. He just wished for the case to be over and done with so that none of them would have to deal with this mess anymore.

* * *

* * *

AN: I missed the last episode (10/15), if someone could please give me a quick summary of what happened, that would be greatly appreciated. (Email it to my personal email, not in the review) Thanks so much!

Also, there has been some confusion about the issue of locations and commutes. Harm is still working at JAG HQ, and is not commuting from Norfolk to D.C. Sorry about that.

* * *


	16. Chapter 16: In the Courtroom

DISCLAIMER: This chapter does contain certain inappropriate references, I apologize. It is not my standard to use them, but when it falls within the characteristics of the characters, then I believe that they are necessary.

* * *

Chapter 16: In the Courtroom

* * *

They broke late for lunch on the second day and Harm was fuming. He would hardly utter a word to anyone and instead focused on mindless paperwork that didn't really need to be done. By the end of the day, things had gotten no better. 

Overall, things were going well for him, AJ was shutting down nearly every effort that Sturgis or Nick would make, but unfortunately, Nick was still able to make a few attacks on Harm's character that AJ couldn't legally fight against.

Mac had been watching Harm carefully for his reactions. He would grip the edge of the table tightly or bite his lower lip when Nick would make a roundabout accusation through his questioning.

The prosecution had interviewed Jennifer and Mattie and through his questions, he had implied that Harm had taken Mattie in because he was taking advantage of her. Mattie was not as well-prepared in her answers as Mac and AJ had prepped her to be; she was nervous and intimidated by the courtroom setting. Despite that, she still managed to make a fair impression upon the jury. Then Nick had called Jennifer to the stand, to try and make another character attack on Harm.

Sturgis was having a hard time prosecuting this case. He had been trained to do his duty and it was taking all of that training to keep him going. He was truly grateful that Nick had offered to take this line of questioning. To do his duty was one thing, to challenge his good friends' character was another matter entirely.

Parkinson had made an issue of the impropriety of a young female Petty Officer living down the hall from a single male Captain for over a year. He hardly touched on the fact that Harm was married now, and to a retired Colonel in the USMC. What brought concern to the minds of the members was the fact that Harm was still paying half the rent for Jen's apartment. Nick bluntly asked Jen what else Harm was paying for before both AJ and Mac had jumped to their feet, demanding for objections. Captain Morris had agreed that the questioning had indeed gone too far and granted the objection, much to Harm's relief. This kind of behavior continued throughout the day and so when they had finally dismissed for the day, Allison and Nick were both grinning smugly and the defense team was less than pleased.

AJ, Harm, Mac, and Bud were still in the courtroom when Mattie breathlessly came running in minutes later.

AJ and Bud had been talking strategy and about witnesses while Mac was busy trying to keep Harm from going after Nick. He was furious that Jen and Mattie had been accused like that. Attacking him was one thing, but implying that Jen and Mattie were sleeping with him was a low blow.

Mattie came running back into the courtroom, the doors slamming shut behind her.

"Harm!" she cried out, running up to him and Mac.

"You're not supposed to be running through JAG," he lightly reprimanded. "What's wrong?"

"I was looking for the bathroom and I opened the door to what I thought was it but it wasn't and I saw Krennick and that mean guy ... going at it." At this point, she blushed. She was far too innocent to see things like what she had seen.

"Saw what? What were they doing?" AJ stepped in.

"They were...well...she was...he was...." Mattie was flustered in her attempt to try and describe the less than innocent scene she had seen.

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER 

JAG HQ

ADMIRAL MORRIS' COURTROOM

"Miss Grace, why don't you tell us what you saw?" Mac asked, stopping her pacing of the courtroom to focus on Mattie.

"I thought it was the bathroom...but when I opened the door, I found Admiral Krennick and Commander Parkinson kissing..."

"Kissing?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mattie politely confirmed.

"Was that all they were doing?" asked Mac as she glanced over at the prosecutor's table.

"No...they were touching each other... and neither was fully clothed." Mattie blushed a deep red as Mac smiled at her, letting her know that she had done good, and she stepped back.

The court was stunned but not entirely convinced of the girl's story.

"No further questions, your Honor."

"Commanders?"

Sturgis stood up, giving Mattie a smile. She didn't smile back, instead, she eyed him warily as he approached her.

"Miss Grace, do you love Captain Rabb?" he asked.

"Objection. Relevance?" Mac asked.

"Your honor, if I may be allowed a little leeway, I promise I'll get to my point quickly," Sturgis pleaded.

"Objection overruled, for now, Commander," granted Morris.

"Do you love Captain Rabb?"' Sturgis repeated.

"As a father figure, yes."

"He's done a lot for you, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he took me in when no one else cared."

"So you would do a lot for him in return?"

"Yes."

"In fact, you love him so much and he's done so much for you that you would lie to save him, would you not?" Sturgis' voice rose as he went on.

"No!" Mattie cried out. "Yes, Harm has done a lot for me. He took me in and became my guardian when my mother had died and my father abandoned me. He has been nothing but honorable with me and he has taught me to be honest, above all else. He has been like a father to me and I love him as such, but I would never lie to him and lie for him." Her voice was strong, solid, and determined. It left no doubt to anyone in the courtroom whether she was lying or not.

Sturgis may have looked disappointed at her response, but inwardly, he was very proud of her.

"No more questions," he announced.

"We will recess for lunch now. Court will resume at 1330."

Allison sat in the back of the courtroom, glaring at the teen who had just ruined her case. True, she and Nick should not have been going at it in the small closet of JAG HQ, but they had both been so excited about the way their case was going, they couldn't help themselves.

The court would have to wait until after lunch to be given more of an explanation of the closet incident of Allison and Nick.

"You did good, Mattie," AJ told her.

"Thank you, sir," she said politely.

"I think you can call me AJ. You earned that when you tamed Rabb," AJ smirked, holding out his hand.

She shook it, grinning. "It took some work, AJ, and it was a dirty job but someone had to do it."

"Hey," protested Harm.

"Actually, I just helped in the process. Mac was the one who did the most work," Mattie explained, her eyes twinkling.

Mac came to stand next to Mattie and eyed Harm. "We've done okay, haven't we?"

"Still needs a little work, I think."

AJ laughed loudly as Harm stood there helplessly, letting himself be teased by two of the most important women in his life.

"But he's turned out well," finished Mattie.

Harm pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Thanks, Mattie."

Suddenly Mac's cell phone went off and she stepped away to answer it. Minutes later, she stepped back to the group.

"I hate to do this, but we've got to go, Mattie. That was the family court and they've moved the date on our hearing up. They'll do it this afternoon or we'll have to wait another month to get in," Mac informed them.

"Go take care of that, I can do this," AJ told them.

Harm hugged Mattie again. "I wish I could be there."

"I know, but you need to be here. Mac and I can handle it," she told him.

Harm moved to stand directly in front of his wife. "Thank you for taking care of this," he softly told her.

"Don't worry about us, there's no way the court will let Mattie go back to Tom," Mac said confidently.

The others pretended not to watch as Harm and Mac continued their soft conversation, assuring the other that they would win each of their court cases. The others also still pretended not to watch as the couple kissed. And kissed. And kissed.

Finally AJ muttered loudly, "Breathe, you two."

Harm and Mac didn't even hear him, so engrossed in their kiss were they, but just by happenchance, the lack of oxygen did force them apart at that moment.

"Come on, Mac. You can reapply your lipstick in the car," Mattie said, heading out.

Unconsciously, Harm reached up to wipe his mouth, freeing it of any trace of Mac's lipstick.

* * *

That afternoon, while Mac was busy fighting for permission to adopt Mattie, AJ was busy with Harm's defense and nailing Krennick's ass to the wall. 

The court no longer had any doubt as to whether Harm was innocent or not. AJ and Mac had done a excellent job proving that Harm's character was nothing but honorable and had been for many years. The charges were very unfounded.

And in so proving Harm innocent and good, the defense was sinking Allison. They called Meg Austin, who told of Allison trying to come onto Harm years before. She told them what Krennick had told her when they were in China trying to get Harm. Allison had admitted that she wanted Harm, and she had admitted it in front of a junior officer.

When Meg was done testifying, the defense called Commander Matthew Dymock, harassed by Allison when she had transferred into a new command after JAG; Lieutenant Adam McMullin, who had actually committed fraternization with Krennick after she had pressured and harassed him, not to mention practically ordered him into doing it before coming to JAG; Captain Jack Remington, one of her more recent conquests. The list that Bud had dug up had indeed been long but AJ felt that these five would be enough.

His second to final witness surprised and shocked everyone, including the one called.

"The defense calls Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Parkinson to the stand," AJ announced loudly.

Both Sturgis and Nick jumped to their feet. "Objection!"

But before AJ could explain why, Admiral Morris held up his hand to stop him. "Objection overruled, Commander Parkinson, you will take the stand," he said sternly.

* * *

SAME TIME 

FAMILY COURT OF WASHINGTON D.C.

COURTROOM OF JUDGE KELLI BUCHANAN

"Your honor, Tom Johnson has been given a second chance to straighten up his life and fix things with his daughter. He ruined that chance when he became drunk and violently beat his daughter. He ruined that chance again when he was found sneaking alcohol in jail. He has shown that he is not responsible enough to be a good father. Tom Johnson is still a good person, however, he has made some grievous mistakes. Mattie deserves better. She deserves to live in a home with people who love and adore her, with people who treat her as family and with people who have proven that they can treat as family." Mac hadn't meant for it to become like a closing argument, but once she got started, the lawyer in her emerged and she just couldn't help it.

Judge Buchanan looked through the paperwork in front of her. "Mrs. Rabb, you husband is Harmon Rabb, correct?"

"Yes."

"The same Harmon Rabb that took in Miss Grace over a year ago to be her guardian?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The same man who let her go?"

"He knew that Mattie and her father needed a second chance together. Because of these latest incidents, Captain Rabb and I feel that living with her father is not the best environment and we would like to petition for her adoption," Mac said, smiling as she felt Mattie's hand slip into hers.

"_Captain_ Rabb? He's military?"

"Yes, he is."

The judge sat there thoughtfully for a moment, taking special note of the scene before her. Tom Johnson, in the orange jumpsuit that marked him as an inmate of the local jail, his hands confined in the cold, metal handcuffs. His head was hung low and he looked dejected; the fight had gone out of him. He was not protesting the relinquishing of his parental rights to his daughter. The need and want for liquor was apparent on his demeanor and it was obvious that this same need and want had taken over his control.

Sarah MacKenzie Rabb stood before her at the other table, her head held high. Her voice had been bold and confident, yet soft and pleading at the same time. Her words had touched the judge and those others within the walls of the courtroom. She still looked nearly every bit a marine, and yet she also had this motherly look about her. She was fighting to save someone else from the childhood that she had had. Beside her stood the girl, whose welfare was in question. There were still the faint traces of bruises and cuts on various parts of her body, but she too, stood confidently before the judge. Only when she happened to glance at her father would her gaze turn somewhat hateful and resentful. She had been betrayed by him not only once, but twice, and in her eyes, that was hard to forgive.

To the casual observer, and to the judge, it was obvious what the choice would be.

"Mr. Johnson, this court decided to give you another chance with your daughter and sadly, you have wasted that opportunity. While we acknowledge that you are Miss Grace's biological father, it seems to me that you certainly have not acted like one. Captain Rabb has proven that he can be a father, and a good one at that. The fact that his wife is here, fighting for this, shows me that she also cares and will be a good mother. Therefore, it is my ruling that Miss Matilda Grace be placed with Captain and Mrs. Rabb and that you, Mr. Johnson, relinquish all parental rights," the judge stated.

Tom could only nod in response. He had failed. Again. He had beaten his daughter and he knew that she would never forgive him again. Harm Rabb would be the father that he never could.

* * *

As much as they wanted to celebrate that night, Harm, Mac, and Mattie decided to wait until they would find out the verdict on Harm's case. They were all pretty sure of what it would be, but wanted to be certain before they had a huge celebration. 

They had packed up all of Mattie's things and either boxed them up, or moved them into Jen's apartment. Mattie was going to stay with Jen until the wedding and the honeymoon were over. Harm and Mac already had a house lined up to buy and were just waiting for things to fall into place. They were working on a loan, so that they could afford both the house and the wedding. What they didn't know was that Frank was already stepping in behind the scenes to stop the paperwork on their loan so that he and Trish could buy the house for Harm and Mac. It was to be their wedding present, they just didn't know it yet.

* * *

THE FOLLOWING DAY 

JAG HQ

ADMIRAL MORRIS' COURTROOM

"Commander, is it true that you and Admiral Krennick have been having sexual relations?" AJ asked, point-blank.

"No." But his response came a little too fast, his voice just a few notches higher.

"Commander, I remind you that you are under oath."

"So what if we are?" Nick shot back. "The UCMJ is a bunch of crap with that stupid rule about fraternization. Yeah, we've been having sex. Yeah, we've been doing it in the office. So what? It's our lives. We've been doing it for years, no one's been smart enough to notice. The fact that we've both been at the same stations for the past 9 years hasn't been surprising to anyone yet. We were just helping each other's careers and having a good time! Captain Rabb doesn't know what he's missing."

AJ took a step back, not expecting the sudden outburst as the answer. Had it not been a military court, whispers would have been heard throughout the room.

Nick hung his head, knowing that he and Allison were ruined. The court was stunned by the Commander's admission. They were so caught up that none of them were watching Allison.

Allison Krennick was livid. Her career was over, it was ruined. The NAVY's Golden Poster Boy had fooled everyone, yet again. He would come out, innocent and free, and she was destroyed.

"Damn you, Harmon Rabb," she seethed, turning to face him, her eyes full of fire and hatred. "Once again, you've won. You're still everybody's little Golden Boy. You always have to come out on top, don't you? Doesn't matter whose lives you ruin in the process."

"Admiral Krennick! Order!" Admiral Morris commanded, banging down his gavel. Two Marine guards took a few steps toward the woman's direction, in case she decided to get physical.

But she didn't listen to Morris, she just continued on in her tirade.

"I pity anyone who even enters your life. You'll only end up hurting them."

Her words were cutting through Harm, tearing him up inside. He knew she was just bitter, but there was some truth to what she was saying about him. He had hurt his mother when he ran away to Vietnam to find his father; he had hurt Frank when he refused to show him any shred of kindness or respect while he was growing up; he had hurt countless girlfriends because of his inability to commit to the relationship. Before he could think of any more examples, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see AJ looking at him, having recognized the look in the younger man's eyes.

"Don't you dare listen to her," he warned.

Mac appeared next to Harm on his other side. Her only action was to take his right hand in hers and squeeze it gently. A warm smile filled her face and he found himself comforted.

Finally seeing that Harm was paying her any attention or listening to a word of what she was saying, Allison launched herself in the trio's direction. They thought she was aiming for Harm and so, out of instinct, Mac stepped in front of her husband protectively.

That was a mistake.

* * *

AN: There is only one more chapter, plus an epilogue (or maybe two!) 

((AN: I know this is very selfish of me and I had promised myself that I wouldn't do this, but I'm begging for reviews. There's about 155 there right now and I think that it would be awesome if it could reach 200. But this is very selfish of me because I should be writing because I want to and because I enjoy it, not for seeking the approval and response of others. Thanks, anyway!))


	17. Chapter 17: Life is Good

You guys have been so awesome! Thanks for all the great reviews. This next chapter is short but I'll be posting the first of my two epilogues soon after this. Enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER 17: Life is Good

* * *

It took Harm only a second to figure out that Allison was aiming for Mac.

Allison threw herself at Mac, trying to knock her down and get in a few punches. She was forgetting that a two-star admiral, also a NAVY SEAL, was standing right there and although he was in his later years, he still had the instincts of a SEAL.

Harm stepped in front of Mac, moving her protectively behind him. AJ stepped in front of the couple, grabbed Allison and pinned her arms behind her back in a quick move. Allison found herself unable to escape; the way he was holding her arms was shooting pain up and down them.

Allison glared at Sarah Mackenzie, the woman who had captured the man she wanted to win.

"Bitch," she hissed.

Unable to stop herself, Mac reached forward and slapped Allison across the face, hard. Everyone in the courtroom silently cheered for the dark-haired, slender lawyer.

An unmistakable grin spread across Harm's face and AJ twisted Allison's arms a little more, causing her to cry out in pain. How dare she call the woman who had been like a daughter to him that name?

Judge Morris nodded at the guards, who were already stepping forward. They took custody of Allison and led her out of the courtroom.

AJ quickly spoke up. "Sir, I move that the court dismiss the charges against Captain Rabb."

"Motion granted. Captain Rabb, you are hereby dismissed of all charges and so shall it appear on your record. Court adjourned." Morris banged down the gavel, once again, and rose from his chair to leave the courtroom.

As others starting filing out also, Harm turned to face Mac, both grinning. Unable to refrain from doing so, they met in a sweet, yet powerful kiss. They were quickly losing control, becoming caught up in the fire of their passion, when somewhere in the back of Mac's mind, the though entered that they were still in the courtroom. She pulled back, and blushed when she heard Harm let out a disappointed groan. Then it dawned on him where they were.

Maintaining some sense of decorum, Harm turned to his former commanding officer.

"Thank you, sir, I don't know what I would have done without your help," Harm said gratefully, shaking hands with AJ.

"You're welcome, Harm. Now go celebrate with your family."

And indeed, Harm did celebrate with his family. He and Mac and Mattie went out to dinner at a nearby pizza place. They were soon joined by Bud, Harriet, little AJ, and Jimmy. Then AJ Chegwidden showed up, followed by Sturgis and Jennifer. Meg Austin showed up and left to catch her flight home to her family. Jason Tiner and Victor Galindez happened to be in town and also joined the JAG family in celebrating the good news. Although neither were stationed at JAG HQ anymore, they were still part of the group.

Harm was sitting next to Mac, his arm around her shoulders, both watching the interaction between their JAG family. Mattie and Jen were sitting near Jason and Gunny and all four were laughing hysterically about something. Big AJ had his namesake in his lap and was telling him stories of funny days at JAG, stories that to Harm's dismay, involved the boy's godparents mostly. Bud and Harriet were trying to keep track of Jimmy, who insisted on trying to touch everything in reach and run to those things that were not. All in all, it was a wonderful sight.

"Life's good, isn't it?" she asked, snuggling closer to him.

"Yes, it is," he said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Yes, it is."

Life was good.

* * *


	18. Half an Epilogue

**Half a Epilogue**

* * *

Admiral Allison Krennick was dishonorably discharged from the US NAVY and was sentenced to 5 years in Leavenworth. It hadn't helped her case when several more male sailors stepped forward, telling of her harassment of them while under her command. 

Harm and Mac adopted Mattie after the courts decided that it would be best if Tom Johnson relinquished all his parental rights. His case hadn't been helped by the fact that he had been found sneaking alcohol in jail. Mattie was thrilled that she finally had two people in her life that wanted her and acted like her friends, as well as her parents. Harm and Mac were just delighted to have a daughter.

Captain Harmon Rabb, Jr. was not given the command at Norfolk. His orders were changed a few weeks after the court-martial of Allison Krennick and he was appointed to be the NAVY's Judge Advocate General. His cause had been helped by the ringing endorsement of Admiral Chegwidden, Ret.; Colonel Rabb, Ret.; Admirals Owens and Morris; plus not only the entire JAG HQ staff, but also the SECNAV.

For once, fate had smiled down upon Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Sarah MacKenzie Rabb. Life was indeed, good.

* * *

* * *

****

**Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, Ret.**

**United States**** Marine Corps**

**and**

**Captain Harmon David Rabb, Jr.**

**United States**** Navy**

**request the honor of your presence**

**at their wedding**

**Saturday, the twenty-third of October**

**at ten o'clock in the morning**

**Cathedral of the Navy**

**United States**** Naval Academy**

**Annapolis****, Maryland**

****

****

**Full dress uniform invited**

****

****

* * *

(Attendance of wedding will be accepted in forms of reviews! The more the merrier!)

* * *


	19. Epilogue

THE REAL EPILOGUE (AN: Because I just couldn't leave you without giving you the proper wedding! Also, I don't know much about traditional weddings and the processes and the vows and such, so I had to read a lot of wedding stories and I used some of their ideas for the wording of what Chaplain Turner says, I apologize.)

* * *

HARM & MAC'S HOTEL ROOM (they refused to be separated)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23

0527 LOCAL

Mac lay awake in the large bed, Harm fast asleep next to her. Honestly, she couldn't sleep; she hadn't been able to nearly all night. No, she was not having second thoughts; how could she? They were already married. She was excited. She rolled over to look at her husband and found him wide-awake, watching her.

"Morning, my soon-to-be wife," he greeted, reaching out to tuck some stray hair behind her ear.

"Good morning to you too," she returned.

"Let's skip the wedding and stay here all day," proposed Harm.

"I'd love to do that," Mac said, snuggling closer to him. "But do you know how many people would come hunt us down and hurt us if we did that? Harriet would have a heart attack if we cheated them all out of this wedding. But since we don't have to get up for another hour..."

"An hour? Hmm...what to do for an hour?" he asked innocently.

She laughed. "I'll show you what to do with an hour," she threatened, her lips crashing down on his in a searing kiss.

* * *

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23

0947

CATHEDRAL OF THE NAVY

UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

It was beautiful. And that was putting it mildly. It was one of the biggest, most attended weddings of all time. Well, not of _all_ time, but the chapel was filled beyond capacity. To schedule a wedding at the Naval Academy Chapel, it had to be reserved at least a year in advance. So, Chegwidden had pulled some strings, Tom Boone had pulled some more strings, and if that wasn't enough, the SECNAV had stepped in to pull a few more strings. They found an available date three months from the end of Harm's trial, it was deemed perfect.

The chapel was filled to maximum capacity. The guest list was long, to say the least. Vast amounts of people came from far and wide to attend the long-awaited wedding of Captain Harmon David Rabb Jr. and Colonel Sarah MacKenzie, Ret. All people could say when they received their wedding invitation was, "It's about time."

Everything was going off perfectly. At the engagement party, which, ironically, was held at AJ Chegwidden's home, the only couples sneaking off to be alone on the porch were Harm and Mac (of course) and Mike Roberts and Jen. Mike and Jen only talked, Harm and Mac made out like crazy for nearly half an hour before Jack Keeter popped his head out, threw a bucket of water at them, and popped right back inside again. Luckily, in his haste, he nearly missed them, and they were only a little damp.

Two minutes later, Harm and Mac came back inside, sheepish looks on their faces. Somehow, no one was surprised. After nine years of pent-up tension, it was good to see them finally getting some of it out. It was a fun evening, enjoyed by all.

Many stories were told about Harm and Mac's antics through the years; their first meeting in the Rose Garden, Harm jumping on the helicopter, Mac's innate sense of timing, their adventure with 'Sarah' in the mountains, Mac's tattoo (she still refused to tell about it while Harm just sat there grinning), Harm shooting up the courtroom, Mac following Harm to Russia, Harm's meatless meatloaf, Harm's missing dress whites, the infamous Baby Deal, Mac leaving JAG, Harm leaving JAG (for flying), Harm fighting over Sarah with Mic in Australia and breaking Bud's jaw, Harm and Mac's goodbye kiss on the admiral's porch the last engagement party, Mac blurting out that she loves Harm to Sturgis, Harm and the great Super Bowl tickets, Mac helping Harm with becoming guardian for Mattie.

The list was long and the evening seemed to last until the wee hours of the morning as no one seemed to run out of stories to tell. Harm and Mac were thoroughly embarrassed, but secretly loved all their friends and family being together and having a great time.

Things only got even better at the rehearsal dinner the night before. When Chaplain Turner asked if there were any objects, Keeter and Sturgis both yelled, "Yeah, we've got a list!" At this, they were then chased around the chapel by Mattie and Chloe. Mattie and Chloe were becoming fast friends, both beyond thrilled that Harm and Mac were getting married, again, and that they got to be in the grand wedding.

One would have thought that the rest of the dinner went off perfectly, but who was defining "perfect?" They were all having a blast joking around. Even Chaplain Turner, who was officiating the ceremony, was chuckling at many of the antics of those there.

When it came time for them to say the traditional vows, Mac just looked at Harm. He could see the slight smirk on her face and watched her, slightly confused. She stood there, repeating after the Chaplain, but changed the vows slightly.

"I, Sarah, take Jack Keeter, to be my lawfully wedded husband." She could go on no further as Jack cheered loudly for joy and rushed to take Mac in his arms. He dipped her back and gave her a passionate, dramatic kiss.

Harm just stood there, groaning loudly, shaking his head. "I knew this was going to happen," he said regretfully, loud enough for all to hear.

Everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter. It took them quite a while to go through the ceremony. Little AJ would have fallen asleep but he was having too much fun exploring the large chapel. Finally, they finished up and left the chapel to go have dinner at a small family restaurant nearby.

There, the night became slightly sweeter as Harm and Mac were given some of their wedding gifts. They had only received a few gifts from various friends, which was weird compared to the amount of people on their guest list. What they didn't know was that their new house was full of wedding gifts from the rest of their friends.

Harm and Mac were each given t-shirts; hers said, 'Property of US Navy' while his read, 'Property of US Marine Corp'. The surprise of the evening came when they opened a small box from Frank and Trish. Mac opened the small box to reveal a set of keys. Harm and Mac looked at each other, confused, and then up at his parents for an explanation.

"They're keys to your new house," Frank said. "Congratulations."

The couple was stunned speechless and Mac had tears in her eyes. The rest of the crew smiled; they already knew about the house, having helped to decorate it over the past few weeks.

They all would have spent the rest of the night talking, but at 2230, Harriet announced that it was time for everyone to head back to the hotel. They all returned, albeit reluctantly, to their separate rooms at the hotel. The Roberts' family had a room; Jen, Mattie, and Chloe were sharing one; Sturgis and Varise another room; Keeter and Sergei had one; Frank and Trish had their own room; and Chegwidden, Chaplain Turner, and Sarah Rabb each had their own separate rooms. Between the wedding party, the family members, and various other friends, they occupied nearly three floors of the hotel.

Now, they had an hour left until the wedding and everyone was hurriedly getting ready. Harm and Mac had enjoyed a nice breakfast in bed before they had to separate to get ready. Mac had put Sturgis in charge of keeping track of all the dress whites, so none of them just happened to end up in the hands of a male stripper.

Mac was in Harriet's hotel room, wedding dress already on. Her makeup still needed to be touched up, but she had kicked everyone out of the bedroom and into the front waiting room, needing a moment to herself. She looked at herself in the mirror, twirling slightly around to see all sides of the dress. It was gorgeously perfect; Trish had had a special designer come in to do it. Mac had tried to tell her that she could just go look for one to buy, but Trish had been insistent that it be designed specifically for her.

The designer had done a beautiful job. The neckline, although a little low, was boat-neck. The sleeves were short and slightly puffy. The white dress was long and flowing, with a five-foot train. The small waistline drew attention to Mac's slender waist, accenting her upper chest. Embroidered around the edges of the skirt were tiny beaded roses. These same beaded roses also covered the top of her dress. Had one examined the dress closely enough, they would have found a pair of wings, also embroidered, at the center of her neckline. The roses had been Trish's idea, once she found out where they first met. The wings, however, had been Mac's idea.

A soft knock came at the door and a voice called out. "Mac? Are you ready?" It was Mattie.

"Come in, Mattie," invited Mac.

Mattie pushed open the door and upon seeing Mac, she came to a standstill.

"Harm's going to stop breathing when he sees you."

Mac laughed. "You think so?"

"Oh, yeah," Mattie said, studying the dress for a few minutes before looking up to meet Mac's eyes. "It's so pretty."

"Thank you, Mattie."

"Um...Mac?"

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering...I mean, I know that you and Harm have adopted me and everything...but I was just wondering..." Mattie trailed off.

"What is it, honey?" Mac asked.

"Can I call you 'Mom'?" she asked hopefully.

Tears came to Mac's eyes and threatened to spill over. "I've love that, Mattie," she answered softly.

Mattie smiled and trying to overcome her nervousness, moved forward to hug Mac. "I love you, Mom," she whispered.

"I love you, too, daughter."

Minutes later, the whole bridal party was ready and heading down to the foyer to wait. The guests were all seated in the chapel and according to AJ, Harm was nervously standing at the altar.

"Sarah? It's almost time," AJ told her gently.

"Is it?" Mac asked, absentmindedly fingering the petals of the rose bouquet she held tightly in her hands. "I lost track of the time."

"That's never happened before."

"No, it never has," she returned. Taking a deep breath and straightening her dress a little, she moved to stand in front of the closed doors. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Finally," muttered AJ. "We've all been waiting years to hear you two say that."

"Sir, might I remind you that we're already married?"

"Shall we go then, Mrs. Rabb?" AJ asked, holding out his arm gallantly for her to take.

She smiled at him, going up on tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, AJ. For everything, Harm and I owe you a lot of our thanks."

He tried to frown at her display of gratitude. "Let's go get you married," he said gruffly.

They both waited as first Mattie walked down, followed by Jen, then Varise. Chloe followed them, as the Flower Girl. She was a little old for the part, but they couldn't find anyone younger to do it and they also couldn't find another groomsman. Chloe didn't mind, the dress that she was now wearing more than made up for it. Finally, as Maid of Honor, Harriet walked down to take her place in the front.

* * *

Harm stood there, waiting patiently. To his left stood Bud Roberts, followed by Sturgis Turner, Jack Keeter, and Mike Roberts. All the groomsmen were wearing their dress whites, Mac refused to have it any other way. Truth be told, Harm had been waiting for this moment his whole life. A few minutes ago, Harm had been pacing nervously back and forth across the room. His nerves were calmed somewhat by the fact that he and Sarah were already legally married, this wedding was for their family and friends.

Little AJ marched down the aisle, the pillow with the rings tied on it, held tightly in his hands. Somehow, big AJ had found a small pair of dress whites for his namesake to wear so that he would match the rest of the men. Little AJ grinned at his uncle proudly as he took his place in the front, but Harm's eyes were focused on the door. He hardly noticed the bridesmaid's walk down, so caught up in waiting for Sarah to appear.

Had he been paying more attention, he would have noticed how beautiful the women all looked in their burgundy-colored gowns. Like Mac's wedding dress, their dresses had the short sleeves with the boat neck. The gowns were also long, but only to the ground. All the women were grinning as they took their place in the front.

The scent of roses filled the air of the chapel. Harm and Mac had been adamant about having roses as their flowers. Everyone had searched far and wide to find as many red roses as they could and their efforts were successful. Red roses scattered the chapel, many from all different places. Specifically, the ones placed near the altar and the ones used in Sarah's bouquet were from the White House Rose Garden. No one would take credit for getting those, though AJ Chegwidden was secretly pleased that he had been allowed to have so many of them.

The music changed as Harriet came to stand at her place and the large doors were thrown open to reveal AJ and Mac standing there, he in his dress whites and she in her wedding dress.

Mac's breath caught in her throat as she saw Harm waiting for her at the end of the aisle. What they all said about gold wings and dress whites was true, there was no doubt about it. Of course, it helped that this Naval pilot turned lawyer was head over heels in love with her.

As AJ walked Mac down the aisle, she and Harm only had eyes for each other. It seemed as if everyone else had disappeared from the world Harm and Mac now found themselves in. Their gazes locked on each other, they were only vaguely aware of when AJ lifted Mac's veil to kiss her cheek. Harm was only barely aware of when AJ turned to Harm and softly threatened, in a tone that only NAVY SEAL's could have, to take care of Mac or else.

They finally became aware of where they were when Chaplain Turner began to speak.

"Dearly beloved, we are assembled her, in the presence of God and these witnesses, to join together this man, Harmon David Rabb, Jr., and this woman, Sarah MacKenzie, in holy matrimony, which is blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, governed by God's commandments, and is to be held in high honor among all people. Therefore it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly; but reverently, discreetly, and in awe of God. Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most human relationship. All those who know Harm and Sarah know that their relationship has indeed been an adventure.

Marriage is the joyous union of two people whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today Harmon and Sarah proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together," he continued.

"The joy we feel now is a solemn joy, because the act of marriage has many consequences, both social and personal. Marriage requires 'love,' a word we often use with vagueness and sentimentality. We may assume that love is some rare and mystical event, when in fact it is our natural state of being. So what do we mean by love? When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities that make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty. And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who loves us, gives us a unique gift: a piece of ourselves, but a piece that only they could give us.

Marriage is to belong to each other through a unique and diverse collaboration, like two threads crossing in different directions, yet weaving one tapestry together. The secret of love and marriage is similar to that of religion itself. It is the emergence of the larger self. It is the finding of one's life by losing it. Such is the privilege of husband and wife - to be each himself, herself and yet another; to face the world strong, with the courage of two.

To make this relationship work, therefore, takes more than love. It takes trust, to know in your hearts that you want only the best for each other. It takes dedication, to stay open to one another, to learn and grow, even when it is difficult to do so. And it takes faith, to go forward together without knowing what the future holds for you both. While love is our natural state of being, these other qualities are not as easy to come by. They are not a destination, but a journey. The true art of married life is in this an inner spiritual journey. It is a mutual enrichment, a give and take between two personalities, a mingling of two endowments, which diminishes neither, but enhances both.

Harmon and Sarah, you have signified your desire to enter into the holy state of matrimony. If any here know of any lawful impediment why these two may not be joined in matrimony, I charge you now, before God, the Searcher of all hearts, to declare it or forever hold you peace." The church was silent. The entire wedding party looked out over the congregation, all preparing to bring down their wrath of anyone who dared speak.

After what seemed like forever, but was in fact barely a minute, Chaplain Turner continued on, "Now, let Harmon and Sarah declare their intent before God and this company. They have chosen to offer their own vows before us today."

Mac had already handed Harriet her rose bouquet and now turned to more fully face Harm, placing her hands in his. She was surprised, yet somewhat glad, to find that his fingers were trembling just as much as hers were. She watched his storm-colored eyes soften and fill with love as he prepared to speak. She offered him an encouraging smile as his fingers nervously tightened around hers, drawing strength from her.

"I, Harmon, take you, Sarah MacKenzie, to be my wife, knowing in my heart that you will always be my friend, my partner, my one true love. I promise to love you, to comfort you, to honor you, and to respect you, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live." He paused, taking another breath. Never before had he been so nervous in speaking in front of so many. What he was about to say was not scripted and was coming from the heart; speaking publicly from the heart was never something he was good with.

"Sarah, I never thought that it would take us so long to get here. But through all that has happened over these past several years, you have always been by my side and I could never imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone but you. You've had my heart since we first met and you will forever hold my heart. I love you, I want to grow old with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Tears were now freely falling from Mac's chocolate brown eyes. She found herself fighting to keep her voice strong and steady as she spoke. "I, Sarah, take you, Harmon David Rabb, Jr., to be my husband, knowing in my heart that you will always be my friend, my partner, my one true love. I promise to love you, to comfort you, to honor you, and to respect you, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.

I have to admit that when I first met you, all I saw was a cocky, arrogant pilot turned lawyer. Then I allowed myself to see beyond that and I found the most caring, kindhearted, and gentle man that I have ever met. I've made so many mistakes and you've always forgiven me without reservation. You've always been there by my side and I too, could never imagine spending my life with anyone else. I love you, I want to grow old with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I couldn't imagine it any other way," she finished.

"The rings, please?" Chaplain Turner requested.

Harm turned to little AJ. He knelt down before his godson and took the rings from the small silk pillow. "Thanks, AJ," he quietly whispered.

"You're welcome, Uncle Harm," said AJ, proud that he had not made a mistake.

Mac watched the small scene, dreaming of how Harm would be such a good father. She continued to watch as Harm straightened back up and handed the rings to the chaplain.

"The circle of these rings symbolizes eternity; gold is a symbol of all that is pure and holy. As you give these rings to each other, may your love be pure and eternal."

The congregation watched as Harm picked up one of the rings and slid it on the third finger of Mac's left hand, then as he said the prepared vows. "Sarah, with this ring, I thee wed."

All continued to watch as Mac repeated the gesture, placing the second ring on the third finger of Harm's left hand and saying the prepared vows.

As Harm and Mac joined hands once again, Chaplain Turner continued with the marriage ceremony. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no person put asunder. Harmon, you may now kiss your bride."

He had barely finished speaking before Harm was lifting Mac's veil and placing it back over her head. His hands on either side of her face, he leaned in to meet her awaiting lips. He had meant it to be a gentle kiss, but like so many other times, it became carried away. Mac leaned in to meet him and their lips moved across the others effortlessly, sparking the passion and fire within. He deepened the kiss as she leaned in to him to keep her balance. They finally broke apart as the sounds of their family and friends breaking into loud cheers filled the large chapel.

Both were blushing as they walked back down the aisle, hand in hand, their friends clapping joyfully.

* * *

"Ready, Mrs. Rabb?" Harm asked, gallantly holding out his arm for her to take.

"Always, Mr. Rabb," she answered, taking his arm and letting him escort her down the steps underneath the sword archway, the NAVY contingent on one side, officers from the Marine Corp on the other. Mac had jokingly stated that they should have the arch made up of half-NAVY and half-Marine Corp. Harm had taken her seriously and the next thing she knew, it was already done.

"By the way, Harm, there's something you should know," she whispered to him, smiling at the waiting crowd.

"What?" he asked quietly, being careful not to step on the edges of her flowing dress.

Mac winced as Bud gently swatted her butt with his sword, calling out, "Go NAVY!", then grinned as Gunny swatted Harm in similar fashion, calling out, "Semper Fi!" instead.

They stepped down the last step to stand on the courtyard in front of the chapel. Before their family and friends could swarm around them, Mac pulled him close to whisper in his ear, "You're gonna be a daddy in about 7 months."

She pulled back slightly to see his reaction. He gaped at her, his mouth wide open.

"Really?" he mouthed.

She nodded, grinning.

"Yes!" he cheered, picking her up to spin her around.

They both laughed with joy as rose petals sprinkled down around them, being tossed and thrown by the guests.

Life was not full of regrets, but full of miracles.

* * *

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

* * *

* * *

Harm and Mac would like to send out a special thanks to all those who were able to attend their wedding; the thanks and gratitude of the wedding planner, Jagfan724, are also included:

**PARTIAL GUEST LIST:**

_Frank & Trish Burnett_

_Sarah Rabb_

_Sergei Zhukov_

_Deanne MacKenzie_

_Meg Austin_

_Jason Tiner_

_Victor Galindez_

_Bobbi Latham_

_Teresa Coultier_

_Commander Alan & Jackie Mattoni_

_Admiral Tom Boone_

_Francesca Chegwidden Paretti_

_Captain Ingles_

_Kate Pike_

_Beth Hawkes_

_Tracy Manetti_

_Lt. Aldridge_

_Beth O'Neil_

_Porter Webb_

_Deputy CIA Director Kershaw_

_Catherine Gale_

_Judge Owen Sebring_

_Judge Rear Admiral Morris_

_Judge Commander Amy Helfman _

_Judge Colonel Blakely_

_Former SECNAV Sheffield _

_SECNAV Nielsen_

_Stuart Dunston_

_Janet Vitaglianso_

_Curtis Rivers (Lt.)_

**SPECIAL GUEST LIST**

_Representative from Ohio_

_Cathy F._

_abc_

_serendipity112233_

_Laveda 27_

_JAGnut101_

_Lauren_

_Zeilfanaat_

_Hemi racing_

_Abigaile_

_Jackia_

_KJFlygirl87_

_Beach chickJASSNL_

_Lynn_

_Princess-RainbowRose_

_Comm. Butler_

_Copea_

_lily_

_isabelle_

_jtbwriter_

_starryeyes10_

_Lisa Brown_

_donna_

_jnp_

_joanoa_

_FoxyWombat_

_iammusic_

_DD2_

_Queenofdiamonds1_

_cgreer_

_Ruli_

_z_

_mayaresi_

_froggy0319_

_Anita_

_harmsgirl-03_

_maidenpride21_

_jaggurl_

_harmfan_

_cool cat_

_do_

_MacHarm4ever_

_JBird7986_

_phoebe_

_catasa_

_sillkysam36_

_cudsgirl_

_Jenny R._

_McG_

_Ams9799_

_SpaceMan546_

_hdrexel_

_LimeJuiceTub_

_Arian04_

_hellen_

_Birthday Girl_

_everlover_

_blue angel_

_Christina_

_Fa-sai_

_deb_

_ady_

_deedee_

_jagfanwi_

_Daisy_

_AnchorsAweighNavy_

_Kristie_

_ColeMax_

_aboxforpandora_

_JAG4me_

_smithknk_

_EternalSleep_

_skyefire_

_xobabygurlxo_

_Marianne Valentine_

_Dana_

_yamaniprincessubu_

_CrazyShady51_

_germanharmmac (Anne)_

_Amanda Allen_

_Punk-Rose_

* * *

_Thank you to all who attended and all who were there throughout the story, I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this story and although it got away from me a bit at times, I'm glad that so many of you have enjoyed reading it. It was only supposed to be a one chapter story...something sweet and simple, but instead it became something much greater. Thank you for your support and inspiration!_


End file.
